Fearsome ... RAF Tornado
Posted on 03/12/2003 7:51:18 PM PST by Pokey78
RAF Tornados were ready last night to strike a crucial blow to Saddam Hussein — by unleashing deadly new Storm Shadow missiles.
The 15 GR4 bombers will spearhead the blitz on Iraq’s vital command bunkers alongside US and Australian counterparts.
And they are banking on a delivery of the 1,300kg stealth cruise bombs in time for the opening bombardment.
The Storm Shadows are so new they have never been used in battle. But military top brass believe the weapon will help crush Saddam’s command structure within days.
The missiles have a range of 180 miles and it will mean RAF pilots will be able to avoid the dangerous suicidal missions of the first Gulf War where they flew directly over enemy targets.
The RAF squadron was expected to turn up in Kuwait or Turkey, but slipped unannounced into the Gulf state of Qatar a fortnight ago.
The pilots are already carrying out round-the-clock training missions with their allied colleagues from the al Udeid air base outside Doha.
US military chiefs have given them the go-ahead to form a key part in the opening hours of military strikes. Storm Shadow is the very latest “smart” weapon. It is accurate to within a few feet.
Target co-ordinates are programmed into its computer before the mission and it is launched from the air. It hugs the ground’s contours so it remains invisible to radar screens — and will be used to attack Saddam’s control and communications bunkers.
MoD officials ordered makers Matra BAe to speed up production of the weapon at the end of last year in the hope it would be ready to be used against Saddam.
RAF engineers are ready to work in sweltering temperatures of 60 degrees to keep their Tornados in the air. But the heat is so intense they can only do 15-minute shifts before spending 45 minutes in air-conditioned rooms.
Even their tools have to be kept in buckets full of iced water because they become too hot to touch. As the RAF made their final preparations, part of the Royal Navy task force in the Gulf began to sail north to Iraq.
After five days at anchor, 14 vessels ordered their force protection teams to “close up” — which means manning on-deck machine guns day and night.
The men of 40 Royal Marine Commando aboard the Navy Task Force ships have been at sea for eight weeks and are eager to go into action.
The unit specialises in devastatingly fast coastline assaults and knows it is likely to form the spearhead of any coalition invasion. That means the next land the troops step on will almost certainly be Iraq. Marine Grant Slaney, 20, on board HMS Ocean, said: “If you ask most of the lads, we would rather get on with it. We are definitely ready.
“The sooner it’s finished, the sooner we can get home and that’s important.We’ve all got a pretty good idea of what we’ll be asked to do now.”
Lieutenant Colonel Gordon Messenger, 40, is the commanding officer. He told journalists aboard the Ocean, including The Sun’s Marc Giddings: “We are absolutely ready to conduct offensive operations.”
Bravo Company Sergeant Pete Baldwin, 35, of Birmingham, said: “What we care about is doing what we are paid to do to the very best of our ability and not letting our mates down when it really counts.”
Marine Stuart Pearson, 19, of Exmouth, Devon, only passed out with his cherished Green Beret at the end of last November — a month before his unit was called up for war.
He said: “It is a bit of a shock to the system, but it’s also very exciting. It is exactly what I joined up for.”
Been there, done that - they've got my utmost admiration. Nothing like changing a flameholder in an engine that was shutdown only an hour earlier - and the temp on the flightline is around one hundred twenty.
The Royal Air Force's new Storm Shadow missile is also to be supplied to the Italian Air Force under a loint procurement programme managed by the MOD's Defence Procurement Agency. The new deal follows an earlier co-operation agreement with France, and will lead to a common stand-off weapon being used by all three countries' air forces.
The MOD ordered Storm Shadow to meet its Conventionally Armed Stand-Off Missile (CASOM) requirement in 1997. France has ordered a similar missile from Matra BAe Dynamics (France), known as Scalp EG. The two countries signed a Memorandum of Understanding for exchange information in 1997, to secure the maximum operational costs and benefits from the two parallel programmes. A new tri-lateral MOU has now been signed, extending these co-operative arrangemnts to include Italy.
Defence Procurement Minister, Baroness Symons said: "A common stand-off weapon will now be integrated on to the Tornado GR4, Italian Tornado IDS, Eurofighter, Harrier GR7, Mirage 2000 and Rafale aircraft - a significant strengthening of Europe's military capability and operational flexibility."
60 degrees C = 140 degrees F
degrees C = [(9/5)(degrees F)] + 32
That's why God makes that crazy breed who actually want to be pilots!
Thanks, Partner.
Yep, I know - and they were in the same temp ranges we worked in on the flight line.
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