File: aacwr_17.txt
Page: 17
Total Pages: 49

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The F-16 crews also trained in new tactics. Instead of the low-altitude tactics they were accustomed to, uscentaf chose to bob from altitudes of 18,000 to 25,000 feet because of the significant threat of antiaircraft artillery and small arms fire at lower altitudes. The 614th's pilots (all U.S. and coalition pilots, for that matter) also had to adjust to a different environment and climate. USAFE pilots had trained for a war with the Warsaw Pact, in central Europe--an area lush with foliage and evergreens with varying terrain. There were few hills and no ground contrast in the Arabian desert, and dust and haze continuously obscured the horizon, adding a difficulty to judging altitude.

(U) The 52d Tactical Fighter Wing's 81st Tactical Fighter Squadron deployed F-4G Wild Weasel aircraft from Spangdahlem AB, Germany, to Shaikh Isa, Bahrain, in September and December 1990, joining the 35th Tactical Fighter Wing (Provisional) from George AFB, California. Between arriving and the start of the Gulf war, 81st air crews flew training sorties, emphasizing night and medium-altitude tactics. During the war, the Wild Weasels effectively suppressed enemy air defenses. In the first three days Of Desert Storm, Wild weasel crews located and destroyed 80 percent of Iraq's integrated air defense system; "only pockets of threats remained." The squadron suffered one combat loss on 19 January, when an F-4G ran short on fuel (due to a leak in the fuel tank caused by Iraqi ground fire) on its way back from Iraq and crashed near King Khalid Military City, Saudi Arabia. The crew ejected and suffered minor injuries.

The 36th Tactical Fighter Wing, stationed at Bitburg AB, Germany, deployed two of its squadrons for Desert Shield and Desert Storm in December. The 525th Tactical Fighter Squadron deployed to Incirlik AB, initially for weapons training, but remained there as part of Joint Task Force (JTF) Proven Force. The 53d Tactical Fighter Squadron went to A1 Kharj, Saudi Arabia. Additionally, some wing F-l5s were transferred t Saudi Arabia under a foreign military sales program. During Operation Desert Storm, pilots of the 53d Tactical Fighter Squadron accounted for 11 of the USAF's 36 aerial combat victories: eight occurred during Desert Storm (17 January-28 February 1991) and three were 1n the post-war period.

A-10 aircraft from the 10th Tactical Fighter Wing's 511th Tactical Fighter Squadron deployed to King Fahd International Aiport, Saudi Arabia, 25 miles northwest of Dhahran, in December. The squadron was assigned to the 354th Tactical Fighter Wing (Provisional), which used King Fahd as the main operating base for its 144 A-lOAs. The wing conducted A-1OA

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