RAF Harriers at Kandahar are to be replaced by Tornado GR4s

[J.J.]

Harriers ready to take off from Kandahar

Michael Evans, Defence Editor
The Times
June 6, 2009

The Harriers are coming home after five years of toiling in the heat and dust of Afghanistan, providing close-air support for Britain’s combat troops, a role that has saved countless soldiers’ lives during their long mission.

The eight Harrier GR9s and their 11 crews that are part of 904 Expeditionary Air Wing based at Kandahar in southern Afghanistan are to be replaced by Tornado GR4s by the end of the month.

"The Harrier crews have mixed emotions about leaving after all this time. The task here has been very rewarding professionally but everyone is now looking forward to rebuilding their personal relationships back home," Wing Commander Dave Haines, 39-year-old officer commanding 1 (Fighter) Squadron, said.

He was speaking just after coming on for night duty as a pilot, where he was ready to scramble at the first sign of an operational emergency — it takes no more than two minutes from alert to take-off.

Air power, he said, had played a vital part in what is now referred to as the "shape, clear, hold, build" strategy — in other words, not just dropping bombs to kill the enemy, but to provide back-up for the troops on the ground as they try to expand areas of stability in which the provincial reconstruction teams (PRTs) can then operate to improve the way of life for the average Afghan.

"We have very strict rules of engagement," Wing Commander Haines said. "I've got special software so that I know what the fragmentation effect will be when I drop a bomb and if I see any women or children within the circle on my TV screen, we don't drop. We'd rather not drop and leave the Taleban to escape than risk killing any civilians."

The Harrier crews have been doing four months at a time, as well as two months of training. "We have each been doing six months every year for the last five years. That takes its toll, so we're looking forward to going home," Wing Commander Haines said.

There have been many incidents of derring-do. In 2007 Flight-Lieutenant Lewis Cunningham, an RAF Harrier pilot, was mentioned in dispatches after destroying a moving vehicle carrying a Taleban commander.

Carrying no precision-guided forward-firing weapons, the pilot had to rely on laser-guided bombs to try and hit the moving target but these weapons are primarily designed for use against static targets.

On this mission, the target was travelling through numerous villages and it was the middle of the night. No drop could be made while the target was near any of the villages because of the risk of civilian casualties.

Flight-Lieutenant Cunningham completed the mission by waiting until the target was clear of any civilian buildings and by making use of a Predator unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) to provide laser-tracking of the target. The weapon was released at just the right time and destroyed the vehicle.

In June last year, 1 (Fighter) Squadron pilots dropped three 1,000lb bombs on to the largest drug haul in Afghanistan — 237 tonnes of cannabis that had been discovered by troops during a counter-narcotics mission. The cannabis was stacked in grain sacks in six trenches that covered the size of two football pitches and was valued at £225 million. Five tonnes of opium, valued at £2 million, were also destroyed.

1 (Fighter) Squadron was also responsible for introducing the GR9 variant of the Harrier and the Sniper advanced targeting pod into operational service, which significantly improved the aircraft’s capability to find and target enemy forces. Arguably it made the Harrier the most effective close-air support platform operating in Afghanistan. Although the "opposition" appears not to have acquired man-portable surface-to-air missiles, the Harriers have frequently come under small-arms attack and have been targeted by anti-aircraft artillery, known as "triple A".

Group Captain Mark Baker, officer commanding 904 Expeditionary Air Wing, said: "The Harriers are not here just for the UK brigade but for the whole theatre of operations, so they have on occasions flown on a recce mission from Kandahar right up to the Hindu Kush, a round trip of 500 miles, because the imagery the Harrier can provide is so good."

Source (one picture included): http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_a ... 439359.ece

Anybody on Scramble who archived Harrier combat deployments to Afghanistan? I'm still very busy to document related USAF deployments (especially A-10A/C, F-16C, F-15E, B-1B), and it would be very nice to meet other OEF aircraft enthusiasts on the web.