2RHPZ
06-26-2004, 08:56 AM
B-1 crew describes taking out 'The Big One'
An Air Force B-1 Lancer crew rode an "adrenaline rush" as they
prepared to strike a recently discovered target of opportunity
believed to be the site of a high-level Iraqi leadership
meeting April 7.
"There wasn't a lot of time for reflection," Lt. Col. Fred
Swan told Pentagon reporters via telephone from his deployed
location. Swan is a B-1 Lancer weapons systems officer
assigned to the 405th Air Expeditionary Wing.
According to Swan, the B-1 was engaged in midair refueling
when a call came from an airborne control aircraft telling
them "this is the big one" and directing them to the new
priority target.
"I knew it was important, so it really doesn't matter who was
attending the high-level meeting," he said. "We've got to get
the bombs on target, and we've got 10 minutes to do it.
"There are four crew members on the B-1 and we all have
separate jobs to do, but we have to work in concert to make it
happen," Swan said.
That coordination included locating the target, planning an
escape route, checking out enemy air defenses, staying in
contact with airborne and ground controllers, selecting the
appropriate weapons, and "dialing in" the target coordinates,
Swan said.
"The key is not what the target is, but making sure we are
100-percent accurate with the proper weapon and our
coordinates are right," said Capt. Chris Wachter, the pilot of
the strike aircraft, who was also interviewed. "And,
oh-by-the-way, we're going into an area where we're going to
get shot at, so we want to make sure we have a way to protect
ourselves."
While the desired effect of the mission was to destroy the
building, Swan said the target's suburban location made
preventing collateral damage a primary concern. To reduce the
danger to innocent people and nearby facilities, mission
planners chose the "Version 3" of the GBU-31 Joint Direct
Attack Munition.
"It's a hard-target penetrator that buries itself in before it
explodes," Swan said. "It will take out the particular
structure, but it's going to minimize the fragmentation ...
into outlying areas."
As important as limiting fragmentation is to reducing
collateral damage, accurate delivery is also key, said Col.
James Kowalski, 405th AEW commander, who also participated in
the interview.
"We've dropped about 2,100 JDAMs," Kowalski said. "Based on a
sampling of ... areas we've hit -- airfields, bunkers and
leadership targets -- the weapon is performing well above 99
percent."
The global positioning system-guided JDAMs typically strike
within 40 feet of the target, Kowalski said.
"They hit where we want them to hit," he said.
by Master Sgt. Scott Elliott, Ai, 09.04.2003
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
B-1B Crew Details Mission Against Leadership Target
It might have been "The Big One."
The mission that a B-1B crew flew April 7 may have killed
Saddam Hussein and his sons. The crew comes from the 405th Air
Expeditionary Wing deployed in the region.
Defense officials will only say that the bomber crew went
after "senior regime leaders," and will not say if the Iraqi
dictator is alive or dead.
But, whether they killed Saddam or his sons or one of his
henchmen, the mission was a great demonstration of the
flexibility the air coalition brings to the battle.
The B-1B, called the "Lancer" by the Air Force and the "B-
ONE" by crews, had just refueled when the call came in, said
Air Force Lt. Col. Fred Swan, the weapons systems officer
aboard the aircraft.
The crew aboard the Airborne Warning and Control Systems
aircraft that gave them the mission called it "the big one,"
Swan said. "When we got the word that it was a priority
leadership target we immediately got an adrenaline rush, but
then you fall back to your training that says, 'Hey let's get
the job done.'"
The B-1B crew had to act quickly, the colonel said. The time
from receiving the mission to putting bombs on the target was
12 minutes, Swan said. "There are four crewmembers on the B-1
and we all have our separate jobs to do, but we have to work
in concert to make this happen."
As the weapons officer, he had to input the coordinates and
delineate the weapons that would be used. He checked the
coordinates three times, he said. "For me, what I was thinking
was 'Well, this could be the big one, let's make sure we get
it right," Swan said.
But it was more than one plane putting four bombs on a target.
In addition to the AWACS support, the B-1B had to have
air-to-air refuelers. "We can't make anything happen unless we
have tankers up there to give us the gas," Swan said.
Plus, Air Force F-16CJs were there to provide suppression of
enemy air defense, and an EA-6 Prowler accompanied the Lancer
to provide surface-to-air radar jamming.
Finally, there are the ground forward-air controllers who
actually put their eyes on the target. "I don't know who that
was, but he had to be there for us to get the coordinates,"
Swan said.
The aircraft pilot, Capt. Chris Wachter, said dropping the
Joint Direct Attack Munition is much like a sniper using a
rifle. "One shot, one kill," he said. "We don't want to go
spraying bullets, we don't want to go spraying bombs."
Wachter said there's not a lot of time during a bombing
mission. "You're sitting around waiting for something and you
get the call, and it becomes 'go-time' really fast," he said.
The B-1B flew in above 25,000 feet at between 400 and 500
knots.
"The key is not just the target, but to be 100 percent
accurate on what weapons to put on it.
"And then 'Oh by the way,' we're going into an area that we're
going to get shot at," he said.
He said once the bombs release "that's a good feeling and it
lasts for about three seconds." That's because the aircraft
has to get out of the high-threat environment.
"When you get back and you find out what the target is, it's a
feather in your cap, but I want you to know that anyone in my
squadron has the ability to go in and do this," he said. "It
just so happens we were the lucky ones."
"Coming off the target itself, I personally was never prouder
to be in the Air Force, if actually this is the Big One," Swan
said. "Everything went as advertised, the weapons came off and
we knew we hit the target."
The B-1Bs are from Ellsworth Air Force Base, S.D. They have a
mission-capable rate in theater of over 90 percent, said Air
Force Col. James M. Kowalski, the 405th Air Expeditionary Wing
commander.
Kowalski said that the aircraft flew only 5 percent of the
sorties during Operation Enduring Freedom over Afghanistan,
but dropped 40 percent of the tonnage. "I think when we do the
math at the end of this one, it's probably going to be pretty
close," he said.
The colonel said the unit has had B-1Bs airborne over Iraq
since before this campaign started, and they are there 24
hours a day, seven days a week. "At any given time I have an
airplane up there flying over Iraq, I've got an airplane
heading up, and I've got an airplane heading home," he said.
This gives coalition planners up to 72 JDAMs to put on
targets. "That's incredible flexibility when you look at our
loiter time, our range and our ability to dash – it is a
supersonic bomber," Kowalski said. "We're sort of an airborne
9-1-1 force: We get there in a hurry and put bombs on the
target."
By Jim Garamone, American Forces, 09.04.2003
An Air Force B-1 Lancer crew rode an "adrenaline rush" as they
prepared to strike a recently discovered target of opportunity
believed to be the site of a high-level Iraqi leadership
meeting April 7.
"There wasn't a lot of time for reflection," Lt. Col. Fred
Swan told Pentagon reporters via telephone from his deployed
location. Swan is a B-1 Lancer weapons systems officer
assigned to the 405th Air Expeditionary Wing.
According to Swan, the B-1 was engaged in midair refueling
when a call came from an airborne control aircraft telling
them "this is the big one" and directing them to the new
priority target.
"I knew it was important, so it really doesn't matter who was
attending the high-level meeting," he said. "We've got to get
the bombs on target, and we've got 10 minutes to do it.
"There are four crew members on the B-1 and we all have
separate jobs to do, but we have to work in concert to make it
happen," Swan said.
That coordination included locating the target, planning an
escape route, checking out enemy air defenses, staying in
contact with airborne and ground controllers, selecting the
appropriate weapons, and "dialing in" the target coordinates,
Swan said.
"The key is not what the target is, but making sure we are
100-percent accurate with the proper weapon and our
coordinates are right," said Capt. Chris Wachter, the pilot of
the strike aircraft, who was also interviewed. "And,
oh-by-the-way, we're going into an area where we're going to
get shot at, so we want to make sure we have a way to protect
ourselves."
While the desired effect of the mission was to destroy the
building, Swan said the target's suburban location made
preventing collateral damage a primary concern. To reduce the
danger to innocent people and nearby facilities, mission
planners chose the "Version 3" of the GBU-31 Joint Direct
Attack Munition.
"It's a hard-target penetrator that buries itself in before it
explodes," Swan said. "It will take out the particular
structure, but it's going to minimize the fragmentation ...
into outlying areas."
As important as limiting fragmentation is to reducing
collateral damage, accurate delivery is also key, said Col.
James Kowalski, 405th AEW commander, who also participated in
the interview.
"We've dropped about 2,100 JDAMs," Kowalski said. "Based on a
sampling of ... areas we've hit -- airfields, bunkers and
leadership targets -- the weapon is performing well above 99
percent."
The global positioning system-guided JDAMs typically strike
within 40 feet of the target, Kowalski said.
"They hit where we want them to hit," he said.
by Master Sgt. Scott Elliott, Ai, 09.04.2003
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
B-1B Crew Details Mission Against Leadership Target
It might have been "The Big One."
The mission that a B-1B crew flew April 7 may have killed
Saddam Hussein and his sons. The crew comes from the 405th Air
Expeditionary Wing deployed in the region.
Defense officials will only say that the bomber crew went
after "senior regime leaders," and will not say if the Iraqi
dictator is alive or dead.
But, whether they killed Saddam or his sons or one of his
henchmen, the mission was a great demonstration of the
flexibility the air coalition brings to the battle.
The B-1B, called the "Lancer" by the Air Force and the "B-
ONE" by crews, had just refueled when the call came in, said
Air Force Lt. Col. Fred Swan, the weapons systems officer
aboard the aircraft.
The crew aboard the Airborne Warning and Control Systems
aircraft that gave them the mission called it "the big one,"
Swan said. "When we got the word that it was a priority
leadership target we immediately got an adrenaline rush, but
then you fall back to your training that says, 'Hey let's get
the job done.'"
The B-1B crew had to act quickly, the colonel said. The time
from receiving the mission to putting bombs on the target was
12 minutes, Swan said. "There are four crewmembers on the B-1
and we all have our separate jobs to do, but we have to work
in concert to make this happen."
As the weapons officer, he had to input the coordinates and
delineate the weapons that would be used. He checked the
coordinates three times, he said. "For me, what I was thinking
was 'Well, this could be the big one, let's make sure we get
it right," Swan said.
But it was more than one plane putting four bombs on a target.
In addition to the AWACS support, the B-1B had to have
air-to-air refuelers. "We can't make anything happen unless we
have tankers up there to give us the gas," Swan said.
Plus, Air Force F-16CJs were there to provide suppression of
enemy air defense, and an EA-6 Prowler accompanied the Lancer
to provide surface-to-air radar jamming.
Finally, there are the ground forward-air controllers who
actually put their eyes on the target. "I don't know who that
was, but he had to be there for us to get the coordinates,"
Swan said.
The aircraft pilot, Capt. Chris Wachter, said dropping the
Joint Direct Attack Munition is much like a sniper using a
rifle. "One shot, one kill," he said. "We don't want to go
spraying bullets, we don't want to go spraying bombs."
Wachter said there's not a lot of time during a bombing
mission. "You're sitting around waiting for something and you
get the call, and it becomes 'go-time' really fast," he said.
The B-1B flew in above 25,000 feet at between 400 and 500
knots.
"The key is not just the target, but to be 100 percent
accurate on what weapons to put on it.
"And then 'Oh by the way,' we're going into an area that we're
going to get shot at," he said.
He said once the bombs release "that's a good feeling and it
lasts for about three seconds." That's because the aircraft
has to get out of the high-threat environment.
"When you get back and you find out what the target is, it's a
feather in your cap, but I want you to know that anyone in my
squadron has the ability to go in and do this," he said. "It
just so happens we were the lucky ones."
"Coming off the target itself, I personally was never prouder
to be in the Air Force, if actually this is the Big One," Swan
said. "Everything went as advertised, the weapons came off and
we knew we hit the target."
The B-1Bs are from Ellsworth Air Force Base, S.D. They have a
mission-capable rate in theater of over 90 percent, said Air
Force Col. James M. Kowalski, the 405th Air Expeditionary Wing
commander.
Kowalski said that the aircraft flew only 5 percent of the
sorties during Operation Enduring Freedom over Afghanistan,
but dropped 40 percent of the tonnage. "I think when we do the
math at the end of this one, it's probably going to be pretty
close," he said.
The colonel said the unit has had B-1Bs airborne over Iraq
since before this campaign started, and they are there 24
hours a day, seven days a week. "At any given time I have an
airplane up there flying over Iraq, I've got an airplane
heading up, and I've got an airplane heading home," he said.
This gives coalition planners up to 72 JDAMs to put on
targets. "That's incredible flexibility when you look at our
loiter time, our range and our ability to dash – it is a
supersonic bomber," Kowalski said. "We're sort of an airborne
9-1-1 force: We get there in a hurry and put bombs on the
target."
By Jim Garamone, American Forces, 09.04.2003