May 16, 1999 (by Lieven Dewitte) -
Turkey's mission at NATO headquarters confirmed on Monday that Turkish F-16s have been bombing targets in Yugoslavia, sharply increasing their involvement in the air war. Turkish jets previously had been patrolling Balkan airspace, providing protection for attacking planes.
Turkey has provided 18 F-16s to the alliance campaign -- 11 stationed at the
NATO base at Aviano,
Italy, and the other seven at home. All of the planes were equipped with laser-guided bombs using the
LANTIRN night-vision system.
