New Iraqi Airborne Strike Capability Spotted

[Rabbit]

New Iraqi Airborne Strike Capability Spotted

Oct 14, 2008
David A. Fulghum


Part of the Iraq’s military future airborne strike capability appears to be flying out of a civilian airport in Fort Worth, Texas.

Two Cessna Grand Caravan 208Bs, armed with a pair of AGM-114 Hellfire missiles each, have been photographed flying out of Meacham Airport earlier this month. The field officially has no military presence, but it is the home of a major ATK Integrated Systems major modification facility and the armed Cessna Caravan is one of its projects.

The capability was referred to - without specificity - when U.S. Air Force Col. Michael Wobbema, former chief of staff for the Coalition Air Force Transition Team said late last year that “there will be an armed variant...that will come on line.” In fact, the order of battle for the Iraqi Air Force now includes three Caravans for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, three armed Caravans, two Hawker/Beechcraft King Air light transports and six King Airs 350s also for ISR.

Further operating out of ATK’s shops are C-130s, a deHavilland Dash-8 and a Swarington Metro IV all heavily modified for clandestine ISR operations, according to sources with knowledge of the field’s operations.

If fact, U.S. officials admit that they are helping the Iraqis build a counterinsurgency force with strike capabilities. In December the Iraqi Air Force will receive the first three armed Caravans - with laser designators for the missiles - followed by two more in early 2009, says USAF Brig. Gen. Brooks Bash, current chief of the Coalition Air Force Transition team.

In addition, ATK modified the U.S. Air National Guard’s 11 RC-26B aircraft (including those for Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California) to provide night-mission support for search and rescue and law enforcement support. They carry electro-optical and infrared (EO/IR) sensors, situational-awareness displays for the air crew, high-resolution digital imagery and video and communications data transfer links. That may have generated the local rumor that the Caravans are part of the Homeland Security Department operation detailed to protecting President Bush when he visits his Crawford, Texas, ranch.

But tank-killing Hellfires wouldn’t be the weapon of choice for law enforcement. And Iraq’s air force already is flying a number of unarmed Caravans for ISR, V.I.P. transport and pilot training, and it is expecting armed Caravans by year’s end.

In July, the Multi-National Security Transition Command Iraq signed over eight Cessna 172s as primary trainers and three Caravan 208s as advanced trainers to the Iraqi Defense Ministry for the air force’s training program at Kirkuk Air Base. The plan is to train 130 new pilots annually. The service’s projected size is 6,000 airmen and 133 aircraft by late 2009.

The olive-drab Caravans have with no national markings, but they do carry an off-colored rectangle near the top of the vertical stabilizer where Iraq puts national flag markings on its military aircraft. The aircraft are fitted with an EO/IR surveillance sensor ball offset to the left side of the aircraft. The engine exhaust is offset to the right to avoid interference with the IR sensor. The sensor ball, targeting pods and missiles will be the same as those on the Predator unmanned aircraft. A pod on the leading edge of the right wing of the Caravan holds a weather radar. The aircraft also has missile warning sensors on the tail and nose and what appears to be chaff and flare dispensers for self-protection.

Meanwhile, Iraqis are acquiring eight Hawker/Beechcraft King Air 350s (similar to the C-12) for longer-endurance, advanced ISR operations and carrying full-motion video and forward-looking IR in a sensor ball.

The United States has used C-12R Horned Owl aircraft with central APY-8 Lynx radars and EO sensors have been used for roadside-bomb detection and other missions associated with the U.S. Army’s Task Force Odin to attack and capture insurgent leadership.

[Key]

Please post a source with this kind of quotes. Thx!

[Rabbit]

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