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Subject: How would a F-35 replacement fair In a package Q senario
jessmo_24    9/3/2011 5:52:01 PM
1st of all here is a little background: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Package_Q_Strike The Package Q Airstrike was the largest air strike of the Gulf War,[3] and the largest strike of F-16s in military history. It was also the only time during the war that any aircraft other than the F-117 was used to attack targets in Baghdad, which was considered to be the most heavily defended area of Iraq. The main target of the strike was the old Osirak Nuclear Reactor in Baghdad, along with many other military sites across the city. The attack was generally a success, but three aircraft were shot down, with two pilots becoming POWs. The majority of the mission goals were met, with the reactor itself completely destroyed and most of the secondary targets hit as well. This attack was the largest of the war and represented an attempt to strike Iraqi defenses a serious blow. Nevertheless, the raid illustrated how a number of small incidents or stresses, none by themselves necessarily serious, could contribute to an unsatisfactory outcome,[3] which eventually convinced USAF commanders to call off further airstrikes against downtown Baghdad.[1] Contents [hide] 1 Prelude 2 Strength 3 The Strike 4 Result 5 References [edit] PreludeThe air campaign against Iraq was going very well for the Coalition; thousands of sorties had been flown around the clock across targets in Kuwait and Iraq. The Iraqi Air Force had proven to be very reluctant to attack the overwhelming Coalition air power. 56 F-16s from the 388th Tactical Fighter Wing and 401st Tactical Fighter Wing, along with some F-4s from the 561st Fighter Squadron and F-15Es from the 53rd Fighter Wing were organized into the largest strike of the war and the largest F-16 strike in history. However, the organization was confused, with many air commanders not receiving their orders until the night of February 18. Overnight three more main targets, in downtown Baghdad, were added. This meant that once the attack force had hit the reactor, which was in the southeast corner of the city, it would have to proceed to the downtown area, which necessitated flying through hundreds of alerted SAMs and AAA, making them easy pickings. However, there was no time to change the mission plans, and the attack went ahead anyway.[3] [edit] StrengthBecause of the distance between the airfields and Baghdad, the F-4s were lightly loaded, each only carrying 2 HARM anti-radiation missiles because of their high fuel consumption rate. This limited the number of targets the SEAD aircraft could attack. The F-16s on the other hand were very heavily loaded, each carrying Mark-84 bombs, two external fuel tanks, two air-air missiles to protect them from Iraqi aircraft, and 90 bundles of chaff, with fifteen flares. The Iraqi forces had several air bases within striking distance of the city that could be ready in minutes, all housing MIG-29s. The MIG-29s were armed with the French-made R550 Magic air-air missile. The Iraqi forces also had thousands of AAA and SAM sites throughout the city, ranging from WWII-era flak guns to AA-8 missiles. Overall the Iraqis had the resources to inflict many casualties on the strike force.[4] [edit] The Strike F-15Es during Operation Desert Shield. U.S. Air Force F-16C over IraqOn the afternoon of February 19, all the aircraft took off from Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. From there, they all met with tankers in Saudi Arabia, near the border of Saudi Arabia and Iraq. Link-up and refueling with the tankers ran into problems. There was bad weather along the tanker tracks, and the tankers approached the release point too early. Consequently, they throttled back to minimum speed, which in turn seriously affected the accompanying fighters. The F-16s were soon close to stalling out, and some had to light afterburners just to stay airborne; four fighters coming off the last tanker fell so far behind that their mission commander ordered them to return to base. After the refueling, all the aircraft turned towards Baghdad, and headed out in force. They had to dodge AAA and SAMs sporadically along the trip, though as the package reached Baghdad airspace, it broke out into the open. Iraqi gunners greeted the Americans with a couple of high-altitude shots in the middle of several formations. Not surprisingly, there were difficulties in communicating among mission groups in the package; the mission commander of the flight attacking downtown Baghdad estimated that he received approximately 80 percent of the calls. Adding to the disarray of the flak exploding below, the Iraqis threw 100-mm shells into the formations. From the moment the package approached Baghdad's air defenses, the Weasels engaged enemy SAM sites. However, there was a problem with the Weasels allocated to the mission; either because of fuel, timing, or the decision of the package commander, not all made it to Baghdad; moreover, some Weasels did not fire all their HARMs, which suggests that they had
 
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WarNerd       9/4/2011 6:02:08 AM
How about breaking this into paragraphs.  As is it is un readable.
 
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