STRIKE EAGLE

IN COMBAT

OPERATION DESERT STORM (compiled from multiple sources)

On August 1, 1990, Iraqi forces invaded Kuwait. On August 6, the US launched Operation Desert Shield to defend against any Iraqi moves southward against Saudi Arabia.  On August 12, F-15Es from the 336th TFS "Rocketeers" of the 4th TFW based at Seymour Johnson AFB left for the Gulf.  The first aircraft loss occurred when F-15E serial number 87-0203 crashed on September 30, 1990, while on a low level training mission killing both crew members.  A second round of Desert Shield buildups took place in November of 1990. A second F-15E squadron, the 335th "Chiefs" from the 4th TFW, moved to Al Kharj.

Operation Desert Storm began on the morning of January 17, 1991.  Based at Al Kharj, Saudi Arabia, 48 F-15Es flew in the Gulf War and each squadron flew about 1,100 missions.  Since the Strike Eagle was still a relatively new aircraft, theater commanders were unsure how to utilize them.  In addition, the Strike Eagle carried only the AAQ-13 LANTIRN navigation pod, which limited their targeting range and ability to drop precision guided munitions.  Because of this they were restricted initially to dropping Mk-82 and Mk-84 unguided GP bombs as well as CBU-87 cluster bombs. A very limited number of the still-developmental AN/AAQ-14 targeting pods were deployed in December 1990 and divided between the 334th and 335th. 

The Strike Eagle's first combat taskings were against airfields, command and control facilities, and anti-armor (commonly known as "tank plinking") and typically Strike Eagles would fly in two-ship elements.  On the first day of the air campaign, 22 F-15E Strike Eagles attacked the fixed SCUD launch sites near Al Qaim while five other F-15E’s bombed fixed sites around the H-2 airfield near the Iraqi-Jordanian border.  Standard weapons loads included fuel tanks on the wing stations and four GBU-12A/B Paveway II LGBs mounted on the front and back top CFT stations. Up to eight GBU-12s could be carried, using both the top and bottom row CFT stations. The wingman were usually not equipped with targeting pods and their GBU-12s were "buddy lased" from the lead F-15E.  Although only some of the F-15Es were equipped with their LANTIRN targeting pods by the end of the Gulf War, pilots claimed that 80 percent of the laser-guided bombs dropped by F-15Es hit their targets.

Later in the air war F-15Es were some of the first aircraft tasked with searching for and attacking Iraqi mobile SCUD missile launchers. In the end they were better able to perform than any other aircraft due to the F-15E's attack avionics.  Even though most aircraft were not equipped with the LANTIRN targeting pod, the APG-70 radar had ground mapping resolution high enough to detect the SCUD Transporter Erector Launchers (TEL).  These missions also used the same basic two-ship tactics as tank plinking missions. The flight lead carried four GBU-10C/Bs mounted on the front and rear BRU-47 pylons, two 600-gal fuel tanks as well as AIM-9L/Ms on the wing pylons, an empty centerline pylon and both LANTIRN pods. The wingman was configured similarly, but without the targeting pod, and carried either six CBU-87/B or 12 Mk 82 LDGP bombs.  

The SCUD hunting element would depart their airfield just before dark. From here, they would transit to a tanker flying over western Saudi Arabia, then fly north to an area between H-2 airfield and Al Qaim. Once there, the two fighter-bombers would fly a racetrack pattern at medium altitude. Over the duration of the flight, the second aircraft would drop one 500 pound bomb at predetermined intervals varying between five and thirty minutes.  The intent of this seemingly haphazard approach was to deter any potential mobile SCUD crew on the ground from setting up and launching their missile. Of course, an ancillary benefit was that any F-15 team, if they spotted a TEL on the ground, could attack the vehicle before it could launch its missile.

These SCUD hunt missions were largely unsuccessful, but the F-15Es attacked many other Iraqi targets of opportunity. Most of these sorties were flown at medium altitudes, and the F-15E did not get much of a chance to demonstrate its low-level capabilities.  Low-level attacks were initially flown at approx. 540 KCAS (Mach 0.85), but as the risk from surface-to-air missiles quickly became less than antiaircraft artillery, later attacks were delivered from medium altitude.

The first ever air-to-air kill by an F-15E was scored on February 14, 1991 by pilot R. Bennett and WSO Maj (now Lt Col) "Chewie" Bakke.  While preparing to bomb a SA-3 site near Al Qaim, AWACS diverted his F-15E element  to respond to a ‘troops in contact’ request for air support. Three Iraqi helicopters had been observed landing near an unspecified special forces element in a ‘no drop’ zone.  The helicopters were subsequently engaged and two of three destroyed.  One of the Iraqi Mi-8 (possibly MD-500?) helicopters was destroyed when a GBU-10 laser-guided bomb was dropped on it from medium altitude.

Two F-15E Strike Eagles were shot down by ground fire, one on Jan 18 (88-1689) and the other on Jan 19 (88-1692). It's suspected that the first "loss" was a result of a missile or threat reaction in which the aircrew jinked into the desert floor.  The crew of the first plane were killed, the crew of the second survived and became POWs.

OPERATION NORTHERN WATCH/SOUTHERN WATCH

Allied aircraft have patrolled Iraq north of the 36th parallel and south of the 32nd parallel to monitor Iraqi compliance with U.N. Security Council Resolutions since Operation Desert Storm ended more than eight years ago. ONW flight operations are based out of Incirlik AB, Turkey, and OSW is based from Prince Sultan AB, Saudi Arabia.

Strike Eagles from Lakenheath and Mountain Home AFB have been attached to the 39th Air and Space Expeditionary Wing, which supports Northern Watch.  Lakenheath, Mountain Home, and Seymour Johnson jets are also part of the 4404th AEW at Prince Sultan AB, Saudi Arabia, where they support Operation Southern Watch.  Iraqi attacks on aircraft participating on ONW/OSW became more frequent after Operation Desert Fox ended in December 1998 and for a period occurred almost daily. Rules of engagement allow allied aircraft to use force in self defense, and thus frequently destroy SAM sites, AAA sites, and other command and control functions.  F-15Es perform both offensive counterair missions as well as strike support missions.

OPERATION ALLIED FORCE

Operation Allied Force began on March 24, 1999, when United States military forces, acting with NATO allies, commenced air strikes against Serbian military targets in the Former Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY).  The 4th Fighter Wing deployed 36 F-15Es to the theater and joined Strike Eagles from the 48th Wing at RAF Lakenheath. The air campaign proceeded for 12 weeks and Strike Eagles were involved in nearly every aspect of the air to ground campaign. 

With 8 years of post-Desert Storm experience behind them, Strike Eagles formed the leading edge of both tactical and strategic bombing in Allied Force. They primarily employed electro-optically guided AGM-130s and laser-guided GBU-10s and GBU-12s for destroying hard targets like airfields, SAM radar sites, and highway bridges.  In one well-publicized "collateral damage" incident, an F-15E crew inadvertently destroyed a civilian train while attacking a rail bridge with an AGM-130.  F-15Es were considered the "hard hitters" of the Operation, dropping the 5,000-pound GBU-28 "Bunker Buster" on underground bunkers at the Pristina airfield in Kosovo.  This was not only the first use of the GBU-28 in Operation Allied Force, but also the first operational drop of that weapon from a Strike Eagle.  Strike Eagles also dropped GBU-12s and CBU-87s against softer tactical targets like military vehicles, petroleum storage facilities, radio stations, and military police barracks.