Armed U.S. Navy Ships Move to Red Sea

AP ^ | 3/14/2003 | ROBERT BURNS

[a_Turk]

WASHINGTON - Signaling impatience with the Turkish government, the Pentagon (news - web sites) is moving about 10 Navy ships out of the Mediterranean to the Red Sea, where they could launch missiles on a path to Iraq (news - web sites) that would not go over Turkey, officials said.

The shift could be the first step in a larger redeployment of ground and naval firepower away from Turkey, which so far has refused to grant overflight rights for U.S. naval aircraft and cruise missiles like the long-range, low-flying Tomahawk.

The Pentagon had hoped to base a 60,000-strong U.S. Army force as well as additional Air Force warplanes in Turkey for use in an Iraq war, but Turkey has not approved those, either. About 50 American and British planes at Incirlik air base in south-central Turkey enforce a no-fly zone over northern Iraq, but it is not clear that the Turkish government would allow them to fly offensive missions against Iraq.

From the Red Sea, the Navy cruisers, destroyers and submarines would be able to launch their Tomahawks for flights over Saudi Arabia to targets inside Iraq.

The ships are part of the USS Harry S. Truman and USS Theodore Roosevelt carrier battle groups, which have been operating in the eastern Mediterranean for weeks in anticipation of war against Iraq.

No decision has been made to move the carriers from the Mediterranean, but that could be the next step, the officials said Thursday, speaking on condition of anonymity. Each carrier has about 80 aircraft aboard.

Tomahawks are satellite-guided missiles normally used in the opening stages of war to strike high-value, fixed targets such as government buildings in areas where the risk of civilian casualties is relatively high.

The Tomahawks are 18 feet long and are designed to evade radar by skimming the land or sea surface. They carry 1,000-pound warheads. Following the Gulf War (news - web sites), they became one of the weapons of choice to respond to Iraqi breaches of U.N. sanctions.

The issue of overflight rights for U.S. missiles and planes has been overshadowed by the Bush administration's struggle to win Turkey's approval to base 60,000 or more U.S. troops there to open a northern front against Iraq.

The Turkish parliament rejected the U.S. request for basing rights earlier this month, and Pentagon officials said Thursday it appeared increasingly unlikely that the Army would position its 4th Infantry Division in Turkey, as originally planned.

About three dozen cargo ships with the 4th Infantry Division's weaponry, equipment and supplies have been waiting off the Turkish coast for weeks, and the troops are still at their base in Fort Hood, Texas.

During the 1991 Gulf War the Navy positioned carriers and Tomahawk-launching ships in the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf. It now has three carriers in the Gulf — the USS Kitty Hawk, the USS Constellation and the USS Abraham Lincoln. Those carrier battle groups include about 20 Tomahawk-firing ships and submarines.

[a_Turk]

Overflight rights for cruise missiles? LOL!

God forbid, there be another "accident" which requires a sequence of probably a dozen direct commands..

On October 1, 1992, during "Exercise display Determination 1992", the USS Saratoga fired two missiles at the Turkish destroyer Muavenet causing several fatalities and injuries. This incident occurred because of non-standard terminology used in the Saratoga's Combat Direction Center.

If there's a US Navy vet here, please let me know how many commands are necessary to fire a sparrow, in this case two sparrows, during an exercise.

Let them use the Red Sea..

[a_Turk]

ping

[mystery-ak]

Well, it looks like the 4th ID is going to sit this one out, unless they use them for mop-up or occupation...what a waste.

[a_Turk]

It is a shame..

[North Coast Conservative]

BUMP

In God We Trust…..Semper Fi

[mystery-ak]

I'll have to change my tag line.

[dnandell]

Since when do cruise missiles launched from a ship in the Eastern Med have to fly over Turkey to get to Iraq? Does anyone in the media know geography? These missiles would fly over Israel and Jordan.

I think the logical answer is that we don't want Arabs thinking Israel launched them.

Of course, I could be wrong(not). Maybe it's like a U.S. airline where you fly out of Des Moines, Iowa to Chicago in order to get to Denver.

[Non-Sequitur]

If there's a US Navy vet here, please let me know how many commands are necessary to fire a sparrow, in this case two sparrows, during an exercise.

Once you are in 'weapons free' mode then basically something along the lines of "Fire one" will do it. Then whoever is manning the weapons control console hits a button and it's missile away. What has to be done prior to launch depends on the kind of launcher you're talking about.

[a_Turk]

How do you get to weapons-free mode in a drill?

[Non-Sequitur]

Carriers like the Saratoga used a large square launcher that contained 8 Sea Sparrow missiles. When you are at general quarters, drill or not, the launcher should be powered up and the missiles in there should be ready to go on command. The firing button itself is usually a little red button on the console. Without going into too many details, since the actual steps vary a little depending on the missile system, there is a fairly short checklist of steps that the weapons control console operator goes through to arm the missile and make launch possible.

From what I remember of the Saratoga incident, the missile exercise was an unscheduled drill cooked up by the CIC officer. He wanted to simulate a missile attack on opposition forces using his Sparrow system. The Sparrow missile team were woken up and told to man their stations without being told that it was a drill or given any details. There was a mistake in communications when the officer told the sailor at the weapons console to 'arm and tune' the missile. What the officer either forgot or wasn't aware of was the fact that 'arm and tune' is the last step taken prior to firing and the sailor therefore assumed it was an actual live fire exercise. So when the CDC officer said 'fire' they did. The Sparrow system salvoes missiles two at a time. Kaboom.

[a_Turk]

That incident shook the trust many had felt...

[Non-Sequitur]

It was a tragic accident. And steps were taken to ensure that something like that never happened again.

[Johnny Gage]

In other related news:

Unarmed French Navy Ships Move to back France.

[aristotleman]

I'm starting to think there is disinformation happening.

I bet there are already secret plans for american troops to deploy in Turkey, even while the ships are pulling out of the E.Mediterranean.

Those troops can catch the Iraqis off guard and will deliver another 'left hook' to Hussein, just like in 1991.

I think it very likely at this point.

The parliament 'no', hasn't seemed to deter or phase the American government too much, which could mean there are other things at play here.

[jwalsh07]

Cruise missiles will not be launched over Turkey. Israel and Jordan is an entirely different matter and todays speech by Bush may have been Jordans price for same.

[a_Turk]

Ey? What? Couldn't hear..

See if your jerkwater ears can hear this:

Turkish sympathies for your terrorist problem will not exceed your sympathies for theirs..

That's a man's choice...