Interesting ploy

[Merik]

I just watched Fox news and they had a thing on the air-cav in Kuwait.They showed the airfield where all the Apaches and Blackhawks were and surprisingly enough,they were sitting in rows just like the P-40s at Hickam airfield and Battleship row in Pearl Harbor.Sitting ducks.I thought to myself, you know, if I was Saddam and I knew I was going to get attacked really soon Id go for that airfield with a couple jets loaded with bombs.First thing came to mind was the Israeli Six-day war when they did a preimptive(spelling?) strike on Syria,Egypt and Jordan.I also thought of another Pearl Harbor attack since the airfield is right on the Kuwaiti/Iraqi border.What do you guys think?

[JiJoMacLE45]

Those airfields with the helos all lined up might be at the ports(I believe in Bahrain and Qatar, but not sure) where they are unloaded and reassembled after coming over on the freighters. Then the air crews come in, pick up their birds, and transit to the FOBs. It was the same in the Gulf, rows after rows of tanks, APCs, and everything else brought in on transport boats. Just my opinion.

[Ichhabe]

Iraq isnt able to get a kite airborne unless US or the Brits allows it. To send fighters against those helicopters, even if they were stationed down town Baghdad would be like certain death. (A Kamikaze attack in 1944 would have had a higher survival-ratio.)

[Ratamacue]

Merik, you have to remember that at all US Air Bases, borrowed from another country or not, there are CAPs (Combat Air Patrols) running almost 24/7--ready to take out any unauthorized aircraft in the area--especially in hotspots like the Middle East, and especially at times like this when everything is just about ready to explode.

So, I say you give it a shot for ol' Saddam. Hey, maybe it'll work!!!

[Merik]

No they arent at the ports.The guy who did the report didnt say what the name of the airfield was or I didnt hear him.I know it wasnt at the ports though.

All the Iraqis have to do is fly in thier airspace a little while like they normally do and then just make a mad dash for the airfield Ichhabe.

[Ichhabe]

It is gonna be the longest mad dash in history if so...
http://www.cnn.com/WORLD/9609/04/iraq.operation/no.fly.zone.map.lg.jpg

[Ichhabe]

http://www.cnn.com/WORLD/9609/04/iraq.operation/no.fly.zone.map.lg.jpg


Heeey! Learning new skills every day...

Well, this is the "No fly zone as you can see. I would say "Good luck, and did u leave ur "Last will" on your desk" to every pilot in that mission...

[Ratamacue]

The AIM-9 Sidewinder has a range of up to 10 nautical miles in good weather conditions.

The AIM-120 AMRAAM has a range of up to 20 nautical miles in good weather conditions.

The AIM-7 Sparrow has a range of up to 30 nautical miles in good weather conditions.

Both the F-16 Falcon and the F-15 Eagle--which would be performing Combat Air Patrols--have fully capability to carry and deploy these weapons.

That mad-dash would be over well before they made it close enough to attack, nevermind getting very far into our airspace.

[Merik]

Whats the minimum altitude to get below radar?

Besides,this is just something that came to mind when I saw it on tv.You gotta remember,declared or not,those guys are still in a warzone and they didnt have anything to protect thier helos IN CASE of an attack.You can never take someone for granted,especially Saddam.

[Kitsune]

This is pointless guys...
Wether or not the Iraqia have a chance to succesfully mount an attack... they would actually do Bush a favor at present. Would be the perfect pretext to attack. And even if a couple of helicopters are destroyed...the U.S. can afford it.
So if Saddam attacks, this will be his end, wether the attack was a succes or not.

And that is precisely why he won't do it.

[Merik]

Yeah but the really sad part about it Kitsune is that he could use chemical or biological weapons in a preimptive strike doing more damage than conventional weapons.That would probably lead the US to do something against the UN because they sat on thier asses while our boys got the shaft.

[...]

I think the more likely and scary scenario is if Iraq launches chemical weapons at Israel. Without a doubt Israel is going to retaliate this time around and they do have nukes...

[Merik]

Honestly I hope they nuke the shiznit outta him if they do,but I know that the Arab states would retaliate towards Israel if they do.Poor guys,everyone down there hates em.

[...]

I am sure they have more than enough to go around.

[Merik]

Last week a Iraqi MiG-25 made it all the way to the Saudi Arabian border through the no-fly zone re-questioning my earlier posts.Yes,the US decided not to intercept the MiG to see if he was going to defect but the fact that he made through the no-fly zone at all really make you wonder.

[FallenAngel]

yeah...they might let one MiG through thinking it is a defector.

You get a squadron or more flying south like a bat outa hell, I'm sure some of those Air Force fighter pilots would be jumping at the chance to get some air-to-air kills. No one has become a fighter ace in what? close to 40 years? :D

[...]

What you heard about the MIG probably was not the whole story. Rarely does someone defect just out of the blue. It was probably coordinated with some spook that made sure he did not get shot down.

[Sulph8]

Merik: Israel will only use nukes if it faces an existential threat and besides I doubt any Iraqi missile would make it through the arsenal of Arrow 2 and PAC 3 anti-missile missiles in Israel. Another thing is, saddam probably doesnt have many missiles left, so he would more likely use them against advancing US forces. But if somehow a missile did get in, from what I have been reading Israel has some secret retaliation plan. As for the Iraqi Migs outfitted with chemical sprayers (I think they can hold about 2000 litres), the Israeli Air Force is fully prepared for them and I think the US has even stationed some of those ships with anti-aircraft capability (AEGIS?) down near Eilat.

[Merik]

Im just stating the possiblities.Thanks for the info though.

[FallenAngel]

from what I have been reading Israel has some secret retaliation plan.

Yeah...and it's called "invasion" :D 'course, they would have to go through Syria to get there...oh well. Its like Yom Kippur all over again.

[Sulph8]

Hmmm not sure. Because what could Israel really do in terms of an invasion that the US wouldent have already done? The retaliation might be something really symbolic. Who knows...