Lufthotet undanröjt

USA sätter nu in AC-130 och A-10 i operationerna att slå ut Khadaffis markstyrkor. Två stycken AC-130 har tidigare ombaserat till RAF Mildenhall i Storbritannien, men fått vänta där i avvaktan på att Khadaffis jaktflyg slagits ut.

AC-130s were used to great effect during the two U.S. offensives in Fallujah, a stronghold of the insurgent group al-Qaeda in Iraq in the early days of the Iraq war. In Afghanistan, the military considers them particularly effective against entrenched militants, and commanders have frequently complained that they are in too short supply. The gunships, developed from a Hercules C-130 transport plane for use in Vietnam, put pilots at greater risk than fighter jets, but they have been used in virtually every U.S. military combat operation since then.

In Libya, “we are determined to step up the mission, to attack his tanks and [troop] columns every day until he withdraws,” a French official said of Libyan leader Moammar Gaddafi and the forces loyal to him.

The AC-130s, which are flying from a base in Italy, were requested by Gen. Carter Ham, the senior U.S. general overseeing the operation, and are likely to continue flying over Libya in the coming days as allied forces attempt to increase the pressure on Gaddafi’s ground forces.

AC-130 och A-10 är fruktansvärt effektiva vapensystem mot markmål, men likt tyskarnas Ju-87 Stuka under VK2 är de mycket sårbara för anfall från jaktflyg, då de opererar på låg höjd och me betydligt lägre fart än det stridsflyg som tidigare satts in. Att USA nu sätter in dessa resurser indikerar att de libyska luftförsvaret är mer eller mindre totalt utslaget.

Det är intressant att NATO tar över operationen i Libyen, men frågan är hur de skall kunna ersätta de flygsystem som USA hittills har ställt upp med? Den offentliga retoriken från USA har varit att man bara "stöttat" insatserna, men sanningen är att USA genomfört majoriteten av alla tyngre anfall.

From the air, the United States is supplying much more firepower than any other country. The allies have fired nearly 200 Tomahawk cruise missiles since the campaign started on March 19, all but 7 from the United States. The United States has flown about 370 attack missions, and its allied partners have flown a similar number, but the Americans have dropped 455 precision-guided munitions compared with 147 from other coalition members.
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On Sunday, an EC-130J Commando Solo aircraft broadcast messages in English and Arabic, to warn Libyan armed forces. “Libyan sailors, leave your ship immediately,” the message warned. “Leave your equipment and return to your family or your home. The Qaddafi regime forces are violating a United Nations resolution ordering the end of hostilities in your country.”