Operation Southern Watch was an air-centered military operation conducted by the United States Department of Defense from 1992 to Spring 2003.
The United States Armed Forces Central Command The Southwest Asia Joint Working Group (JTF-SWA) has a mission to monitor and control airspace to the south of the 32nd Parallel (expanded to the 33rd Parliament in 1996 ) in south and south-central Iraq during the period following the end of the 1991 Gulf War until the 2003 Iraq invasion.
Video Operation Southern Watch
Summary
Operation Southern Watch began on August 27, 1992 with the aim of ensuring the compliance of Iraq with UN Security Council Resolution 688 (UNSCR 688) of 5 April 1991, which demanded Iraq, "... immediately put an end to this persecution and express hope in the same context that dialogue open will be made to ensure that the human and political rights of all Iraqis are respected. "Nothing in the resolution specifies the no-fly zone of Iraq or Operation Southern Watch.
Following the end of Operation Desert Storm, the bombing of Iraq and the bombing of Shia Muslims in southern Iraq during the remainder of 1991 and 1992 showed that Saddam Hussein chose not to abide by the resolution. Military forces from Saudi Arabia, the United States, Britain and France participated in Operation Watch South. The commander of JTF-SWA, an aeronautically assessed United States Air Force Major (USAF), assisted by aeronautically appointed United States Navy Air Force (USN), was reported directly to the Commandant, US Central Command (USCENTCOM).
The military engagement in Southern Watch occurs regularly, with Coalition aircraft routinely being shot by Iraqi air defense forces using surface-to-air missiles (SAM) and anti-aircraft artillery (AAA), although such incidents are usually only reported in occasional Western press. An intensification was recorded before the 2003 Iraq invasion, although it was said at the time only in response to increased activity by Iraqi air defense forces. It is now known that this increased activity occurred during an operation known as the Southern Focused Operation.
Maps Operation Southern Watch
Military operations
Postwar
At first, Iraqi forces did not attack the Coalition aircraft. However, after the United Nations voted to maintain sanctions against Iraq, Iraqi forces began firing on AWACS aircraft and AWACS Sentry E-3 Sentry aircraft reported an unusual number of Iraqi Air Force activities.
On December 27, 1992, Iraq's only MiG-25 Foxbat crossed into a no-fly zone and flew toward the FF15 USAF Eagles flight before turning north and using its superior speed to run faster than the chasing Eagles. Later that day, several Iraqi fighters ducked back and forth in the 32nd parallel, out of reach of US missile fighters. However, the Iraqi MiG-25 crossed too far and was trapped inside the 32nd parallel with a flight from the USAF F-16 Falcons from the 33rd Combatron Combatron. After intelligence verified that the plane was hostile, the pilot of the plane received permission to fire. The main aircraft driven by Lieutenant Colonel Gary North, USAF, fired a missile that destroyed the Iraqi fighters. This is the first combat attack by the F-16 in the USAF service, and the first battle kills using ARA-120 AMRAAM missiles. On January 17, 1993, an USAF F-16C destroyed an Iraqi MiG-23 Flogger with an AMRAAM missile for a second USAF air victory.
On 7 January 1993, Iraq approved the demands of America, Britain and France to withdraw their surface-to-air missiles from below the 32nd parallel. However, they did not remove everything, and US President George H. W. Bush ordered the US aircraft to bomb the remaining missile sites. On January 13, more than 100 American, British and French aircraft attacked Iraqi missile sites near Nasiriyah, Samawah, Najaf and Al-Amarah. About half of Iraq's sites to the south of the 32nd parallel were hit. On June 29, the USAF F-4G Phantom II destroyed the Iraqi radar that had illuminated it, and a month later, two US Navy Entrepreneurs EA-6B fired AGM-88 HARM missiles to more Iraqi radar.
Operation "Vigilant Warrior" and "Desert Strike"
The first nine months of 1994 were quiet, and the USAF began to withdraw troops from the region. In October, Saddam deployed two divisions of the Iraqi Republican Guard troops to the Kuwaiti border after insisting that UN sanctions should be lifted, speeding Operation of Warrior Warriors, rushing American troops into the Persian Gulf region. Saddam then drew the Iraqi Republican Guard out of the Kuwati border due to the massive military buildup of America. This serves to increase the Coalition's determination to uphold the no-fly zone and contain Iraqi aggression.
On June 25, 1996, terrorists bombed a US base at the Khobar Tower in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia which stationed personnel at King Abdulaziz Air Base in support of Operation Southern Watch. The attack killed 19 American aviators and injured 372 additional people. This incident led to the alignment of American troops in Saudi Arabia from Khobar Towers to Prince Sultan Air Base and Eskan Village, with both installations located far from the population center.
In August 1996, Iraqi forces invaded the Kurdish region in northern Iraq and American troops retaliated with Operation Thunder Strike against targets in southern Iraq. As a result, the no-fly zone extended northward to the 33rd parallel. This newly marked conflict with Iraqi air defenses and several other radars was destroyed by F-16 fighters.
Operation "Desert Fox"
On December 15, 1998, France suspended participation in the no-fly zone, arguing that they had been held for too long and ineffective. On December 16, US President Bill Clinton ordered the execution of Operation Desert Fox, a four-day air campaign against targets across Iraq, citing Iraq's failure to comply with UNSC Resolutions. This resulted in increased levels of combat in the no-fly zone that lasted until 2003.
Recent years
On December 30, 1998, the Iraqi missile site SA-6 fired 6 to 8 surface-to-air missiles on American military aircraft. USAF F-16 responded by bombing the sites.
On January 5, 1999, four Iraqi MiG-25s crossed into the southern bans zone, sparking aerial battles with two F-15 USAF Eagles and two USN F-14 Tomcats. American fighters fired a total of six missiles on Iraqi planes, but Iraqi planes were able to evade all missiles and flee back north.
On May 22, 2000, it was reported that since the implementation of the Fox Operation in December 1998, there were 470 separate incidents of AAA or surface-to-air missiles on Coalition aircraft, while at the same time, Iraqi planes had violated the southern flight ban zone 150 time. During the same time period, American aircraft have attacked Iraqi targets on 73 occasions.
On February 16, 2001, American and British aircraft launched attacks on six targets in southern Iraq, including command centers, radar and communications centers. Only about 40% of the target is affected. This operation sparked a sharp editorial in foreign press, reflecting the growing world skepticism about US-British policy towards Iraq. The incident of the Coalition aircraft was attacked, followed by aerial repercussions began to occur each week.
In late 2001, a Sudanese man linked to al-Qaeda fired a SA-7 Strela missile brought by humans to a USAF F-15 fighter that took off from Prince Sultan's air base in Saudi Arabia. The missile missed the target and was not detected by the pilot or anyone at the base. Saudi police found empty launchers in the desert in May 2002, and a suspect was arrested in Sudan a month later. He led the police to a stop in the desert where the second missile was buried.
In June 2002, American and British forces stepped up attacks on Iraqi air defense targets throughout southern Iraq. It was later revealed that this was part of a planned operation called Southern Focus aimed at undermining Iraq's air defense system in preparation for a planned invasion of Iraq.
From August 1992 to early 2001, the Coalition pilot flew 153,000 attacks on southern Iraq.
From 1992 to 2003, the Coalition's maritime assets also supported maritime interdiction operations in the Persian Gulf under the banner of Operation South Watch and Northern Watch Operations.
Basing and Drawing
Prior to the end of February 2003, all USF, USN, USMC, RAF and French Air Force aircraft based in Saudi Arabia had become "defense" assets to support Saudi Arabia's defense, for example, with the exception of AGM-88 HARM missiles. by USAF F-16CJ and USN or USMC EA-6B aircraft as defense against surface-to-air Iraqi missiles, they do not carry "offensive" air-to-ground weapons that can be used to attack land targets in Iraq in response to hostile acts against Coalition aircraft in Iraqi airspace uphold UNSCR 688.
As a result, strike aircraft with offensive weapons are limited to USAF A-10, F-15E, F-16C, RAF Tornado GR.4, and sometimes USMC F/A-18 or AV-8B aircraft based at Ali Al Salem Air Ahmad al-Jaber Air Base and Base in Kuwait, as well as USN and F-14, F/A-18 and EA-6B aircraft on board USMC AV-8B aircraft aboard US amphibious assault ships operating in the Gulf Persian.
In addition to USAF E-3 AWACS and E-8 J-STARS commands & amp; control aircraft and KC-135 Saudi Arabia-based air refueling aircraft, additional USAF KC-10 and KC-135 refueling aircraft are also based at Al Dhafra Air Base in UAE, while RAF VC10 K3 fueling is based on Aviation The US Navy Support Unit (ASU) at Bahrain International Airport in Bahrain to support the strike aircraft.
On February 27, 2003, it was announced that the US would be allowed to launch fighter aircraft with offensive weapons from its base in Saudi Arabia to support the Iraq War - and in turn would begin a gradual withdrawal from the country.
On April 29, 2003, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld announced that he would withdraw US troops from the country, stating that the Iraq War no longer needed support installations within the Saudi kingdom. Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz earlier said that the continued US presence in the kingdom also put America's life in jeopardy.
All non-Royal Saudi Aircraft aircraft and units at the Sultan's Air Base were transferred to other bases in the region, especially the Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar and the Al-Dafar Air Base in the UAE. These included the Air Operations Coalition Center (CAOC), which had been transferred to the PSAB from Eskan Village in September 2001, and which is now in Al Udeid AB.
See also
- Northern Watch Operation
References
External links
- Global Security Brief on Southern Watch Operations
- Lt. Colonel Gary North MiG Kill - December 1992
- Legacy of Air Blockade - Air Force Magazine, February 2003
- Warning-MiG-25!: After Desert Storm, the French learned the hard way that the Iraqi air force could still intercept
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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