Operation Odyssey Dawn/Unified Protector

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by Boman » 20 May 2011, 09:57

Boman wrote:Tail #668 was photographed on March 30th 2011 taking off from Crete carrying 2xGBU-31 with BLU-109 warheads


Tail #285 is also photographed carrying this loadout, as seen in the latest edition of the Norwegian military magazine F
Best regards
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by aceshigh » 10 Jun 2011, 23:19

Robert Gates: NATO Risks Being Irrelevant

(CNN) -- Outgoing U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates says NATO has become a "two-tiered" alliance poorly equipped to deal with challenges, and with members either unable or unwilling to carry out agreed missions in Afghanistan and Libya.

In his farewell speech Friday to the NATO Council in Brussels, Gates pulled few punches in listing the shortcomings of the alliance.
In particular, he drew a contrast between those members "willing and able to pay the price and bear the burdens of alliance commitments, and those who enjoy the benefits of NATO membership ... but don't want to share the risks and the costs."

"This is no longer a hypothetical worry," he said. "We are there today, and it is unacceptable."

Gates called for urgent action to "avoid the very real possibility of collective military irrelevance." Ultimately, he said, "nations must be responsible for their fair share of the common defense."

The defense secretary said the problem was in part one of resources.
Pointing to one estimate that European defense spending had declined by nearly 15% in the decade following 9/11, Gates said that only five of the 28 allies now spent the agreed target of 2% of GDP on defense.

Gates said the allied mission in Afghanistan had exposed significant shortcomings of NATO -- in military capabilities and political will.
"Despite more than 2 million troops in uniform -- not counting the U.S. military -- NATO has struggled, at times desperately, to sustain a deployment of 25,000 to 40,000 troops, not just in boots on the ground, but in crucial support assets," he said.

Gates praised governments that had stepped up in Afghanistan.
"Frankly, four years ago I never would have expected the alliance to sustain this operation at this level for this long, much less add significantly more forces in 2010," he said.

That had "decisively changed the momentum on the ground," but NATO must now guard against a "rush to the exits."
"The way ahead in Afghanistan is "in together, out together," Gates said -- with the aim of "inflicting a strategic and ideological defeat on terrorist groups that threaten our homelands."

Gates had harsh words for the conduct of the air campaign against the regime of Moammar Gadhafi in Libya. He said it had become "painfully clear" that shortcomings could "jeopardize the alliance's ability to conduct an integrated, effective and sustained air-sea campaign."
"While every alliance member voted for the Libya mission, less than half have participated at all, and fewer than a third have been willing to participate in the strike mission," he said.

Some did not want to -- others simply were unable to. NATO lacked intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance assets to do the job. Gates gave one critical example: "NATO air operations center in Italy required a major augmentation of targeting specialists, mainly from the U.S., to do the job ... We have the spectacle of an air operations center designed to handle more than 300 sorties a day struggling to launch about 150."
Gates praised some NATO members for punching above their weight in the Libya operation.

"Norway and Denmark have provided 12% of allied strike aircraft yet have struck about one third of the targets," he said. But such examples were the exceptions.
Gates concluded with a candid warning about American willingness to continue bearing a growing part of the NATO burden.

"The blunt reality is that there will be dwindling appetite and patience in the U.S. Congress ... to expend increasingly precious funds on behalf of nations that are apparently unwilling to devote the necessary resources or make the necessary changes to be a serious and capable partners in their own defense," he said.

NATO members must better allocate their resources, follow through on commitments and protect defense budgets from being "further gutted" to avoid "a dismal future," Gates said.


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by flighthawk » 11 Jun 2011, 19:20

Well if that really is the case, then certain NATO members need to either accept their responsibilities - or get kicked out!


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by aceshigh » 11 Jun 2011, 21:32

flighthawk wrote:Well if that really is the case, then certain NATO members need to either accept their responsibilities - or get kicked out!


Agree. But i also worry for the future of the alliance, as Mr. Gates. The same thing is happening in Afghanistan. Some NATO members are not pulling their weight. As a Norwegian, (and Scandinavian i might add), i find pride in the fact that Norway and Denmark is stepping up beyond what could be expected given the size of the countries. The transatlantic ties are strong in Norway, as is reflected in the choice of the F-35.


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by discofishing » 11 Jun 2011, 21:40

If the UN went away, would other countries have an easier time supporting NATO?


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by discofishing » 11 Jun 2011, 21:53

British Army Air Corps AH Mk.1 Apaches are in the fight now. They will be used from a carrier.



So the Brits may have lost their ability to launch fighters from ships with the retirement of the aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal but that hasn’t stopped the Royal Navy from finding a stopgap power projection system until the Queen Elizabeth class supercarriers are commissioned. Apparently, the Royal Navy and British Army have re-qualified the AH-64 Apache (known as the AH1 in the U.K.) to operate from ships.

Three Apaches were originally embarked on Ocean as part of an exercise aimed at giving the fleet some ability to project carrier-launched air power since the Ark Royal’s Harrier jump jets were retired along with the ship. Now, the Ocean is sailing off the coast of Libya with the attack helicopters on-board (pictured above).

These birds are part of the Anglo-French force of attack helos that are may-or-may not be set to strike targets belonging to Moammar Gadhafi’s government in Libya. If the Apaches join the fray, this will mark a new phase of the Libyan conflict, coming on the heels of some of the heaviest NATO air strikes yet against Gadhafi.

From Aviation Week’s Ares blog:

What started out as an exercise is now turning into something more. The British government has apparently decided to deploy the rotorcraft to Libya, to help rebels in the area of Misurata in their fight against Libyan government forces.

The move is a big escalation for the British after weeks in which sustained attacks on Libyan government positions and Col. Gadddafi’s leadership compounds failed to generate any major breakthrough.

Only three Apaches are deployed on HMS Ocean, but the government has apparently authorized at least one more to be dispatched there with two more on standby, reports the Daily Telegraph.

If deployed, the choppers would perform a similar role as the handful of U.S. drones that have been striking Gadhafi’s troops for just over a month now; loitering close to the ground in urban areas where they can easily identify and kill enemy soldiers who are deliberately hiding among civilians.

While strikes by fast jets have eliminated Gadhafi’s fleet of fixed wing aircraft and anti aircraft batteries along with seriously reducing the number of command and control bunkers, ammo dumps, artillery and armored vehicles, the regime is still holding the rebels in check by adopting assymetric tactics to hide its remaining firepower from NATO strike jets and pummel the rebels. The addition of at least three Apaches and an unknown number of French Tiger attack helos embarked on the Mistral class assault ship Tonnerre will no doubt allow NATO put even more pressure on Gadhafi’s forces that try to hide from air strikes.

The Apaches and Tigers carry more weapons (cannons, rockets and Hellfire missiles) than the drones and they put aircrew in the thick of the fight. Yes, this exposes NATO to human losses but it also allows for potentially quicker target identification and decisions on how and when to pull the trigger.

Read more: http://defensetech.org/2011/05/24/brits ... z1P0Dtj8h1
Defense.org



http://defensetech.org/2011/05/24/brits ... off-libya/


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by aceshigh » 11 Jun 2011, 21:56

I can't really see why the U.N should be considered a part of the problem. The Libyan campaign is a NATO operation based on a U.N mandate, as in Afghanistan.


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by Lajes » 16 Jun 2011, 14:02

One question, if appropriate here. Back in March in Aviano I have seen CCIPed Block 40 and 50 aircraft (AV, SP) with several different loadouts. I got the impression that each wing (side) has a limitation of three weapons requiring 1760 interface, for example 1xGBU-31, 1xAIM-9X, 1xAIM-120B,C.
If double GBU-38 was carried on the middle pylon on smart BRU, an AIM-9M not requiring 1760 replaced AIM-9X on the outside rail.

Some of my images:

http://legiero.blog.hu/2011/03/22/avianoi_odusszeia

http://legiero.blog.hu/2011/04/02/aviano_masodszor

Lajes


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by loredk » 29 Jun 2011, 10:23

Mission Update 28th June

Danish F-16 on three missions

28-06-2011 - kl. 15:00
by Inge Borggaard

Danish F-16 fighters has the last day completed three missions in several areas between Zlitan and Brega. The aircrafts was deployed in observation tasks. There were not used precision bombs.

There is now 338 missions completed, of which 336 have been air-to-ground missions, while two have been air-to-air missions. The total number of bombs dropped is still at 552 pieces.


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by Asif » 15 Sep 2011, 23:33

First photo of mission markings. Anyone got further photos of 77 FS jets on there return to Shaw AFB, showing the detail markings


Lt. Col. John Vargas, 77th FS commander, talks with a crew chief before exiting F-16C block 50 #91-0345, after returning from a five month deployment in support of Operation Unified Protector on September 12th, 2011. [USAF photo by SrA. Kenny Holston]
Attachments
110912-F-CJ989-009.jpg
Six 77 FS F-16s park at Shaw AFB, as they return to home station after a five month deployment in support of Operation Unified Protector, on Sept. 12, 2011. [USAF photo by SrA Kenny Holston]
Asif Shamim
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by geogen » 16 Sep 2011, 03:02

Pretty mind-blowing markings there, reflecting what they went through during their deployment, thanks for the photo. Respects to 77th FS commander Lt. Col. Vargas and the squadron. On a lesser note, I'm curious which class munition in particular the single 'mission marking' depicts on the upper-right marking?
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by yakuza » 16 Sep 2011, 11:15

[L]JDAM rules


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by outlaw162 » 16 Sep 2011, 16:31

Isn't that a potential safety issue, having the external canopy jettison procedures obscured by the mission markings?

(Look at Oshkosh...)


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by bumtish » 31 Oct 2011, 23:22

Some public numbers on the Royal Danish Air Force effort during Unified Protector, as per 30 Sept / 31 Oct for wrapping up.

923 precision-guided bombs dropped.

3,503 flight hours (30 Sept)

599 missions flown, each mission consisted of 2-4 sorties, or +1,200 sorties. 597 have been strike missions and 2 have been ATA.

330 personnel have participated in shifts of 120.

20 F-16 have been cycled through the pool of 4+2 stationed on NAS Sigonella.

http://politiken.dk/udland/ECE1428513/d ... er-kroner/

http://forsvaret.dk/FTK/Nyt%20og%20Pres ... tober.aspx


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by europatches » 01 Nov 2011, 23:10

The 6 Dutch F16's will return on wednesday 2/11 back home, the rest of the detachment will return on friday.


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