Posted on 12/01/2014 1:04:58 PM PST by naturalman1975
The discovery of a 'hidden network of caves and bunkers' occupied by the Islamic State in northern Iraq, by an Australian military plane, has led to an enormous airstrike and the death of over 100 terrorist fighters.
Vice-Admiral David Johnston, the chief of joint operations at the Department of Defence, revealed details of the successful multi-national airstrike during an operational update in Canberra on Tuesday.
He said that an Australian F-18 Super Hornet military plane, fitted with regular and heat-seeking night cameras, located the concealed bunkers and tunnels in a hillside at Kirkuk while monitoring movements on the mountain during the last week.
'Within days a subsequent multi-national airstrike involving 20 aircraft attacked 44 targets, complimented by a large-scale ground operation that was led by the Kurdish security forces, that rapidly entered that area, cleared it of the remaining ISIL militants, and with some reporting indicating that over 100 ISIL fighters were killed in those clearance operations,' Vice-Admiral Johnston said.
Another recent airstrike that was led by an Australian crew led to the 'severe damage' of a major improvised explosive device factory in Mosul.
Australian forces have also had an important role in the Iraqi government recapturing control of an oil refinery in Baji that, according to Vice-Admiral Johnston, has allowed them to better fund their own defences through the daily $13 million worth of revenue it produces.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
Max useful load for the A6 appears to be in excess of 30,000 lb, which would have been split between ordnance and external fuel.
Put another shrimp on the Barbi!
Excellent idea!
Very Good. Thank you
God bless the Aussies....I would move there...maybe Tasmania, or New Zealand... if i could.
There’s a reason the Navy nick-named them “lawn-darts”, and its not the shape.
People are great ... I'm sure they have their share of jerks, but I never met one.
OTOH, you might find that they have created for themselves more of a nanny-state than you would like.
Who am I to second-guess the military authorities revealing this info, but I would have preferred to see something like, "an Australian F-18 Super Hornet military plane located the concealed bunkers and tunnels in a hillside at Kirkuk through information provided by persons close to reputed ISIS sheet-head military commander Mohammed Abu Porkshtupper..."
The resultant circle-jerk would be fun to witness (that is, if you're not someone close to Mohammed Abu Porkshtupper's former inner circle).
I wish the Daily Mail would put a “PRINT” icon on their articles so we could copy them without having to heavily edit millions of pages of useless ads and other stuff.
They don’t call the Aussies “Diggers” for nothing, as ISIS just found out. They didn’t screw around with the VC/NVA in Nam and they’re not doing it in Iraq (Obama take note, you cowardly POS).
With less than 5/10ths cloud coverage an average B-17 Group could be expected to place 32.4% of its bombs within 1000 feet of the aiming point when aiming visually.
The average B-24 Group under the same conditions could be expected to place 30.4% of its bombs within 1000 feet of the aiming point. SOURCE
These guys don't bother to try to hit a factory building - they pick a single window.
Never been to Tasmania or New Zealand, but I was getting ready to go to Australia when my son’s wife got pregnant, so guess who won out??? I stayed.
I still wish I had taken the plunge in one way....
I’m sure a Nanny state would not be pleasing, but that is where we are. I like that they are so strick on immigration of Terrorists and Muslims...and most of the blacks there are from UK or around the world, and not into this protesting against whites or wanting race reparations from the Civil War.
Plus an F-18 pilot is back at base playing video games in the time it would take a squadron of the old prop planes to get over target.
Good work by all involved. Aussies are true warriors.
Of course at a rumored million dollars per weapon expended, me thinks we might run out of money before they run out of terrorists. s/
Peek a Boom
Not only that, analysis photographs taken at the time showed that only about 5% of the bombs landed within ten miles of the target. We really blew up a lot of farmer’s fields.
Some good news!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.