Air raid

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Air superiority
Rotte of F-18 fighter planes
In-flight refueling of a Mirage
E-3B Sentry AWACS is coordinating a night attack on ISIS positions in Iraq
F-15 aircraft approaching a target in Syria
AWACS airplane
An F-14 flies over a bombed airfield in Iraq
Simulated napalm attack
Coalition air strike on Kobane
Video of an air strike in Baghdad by an Apache attack helicopter
typical air raid unit of the 1980s

An air strike or attack is an attack operation carried out by combat aircraft (usually fighter-bombers or ground attack aircraft ) or attack helicopters . This includes strikes against enemy targets of all kinds (including air targets). In common parlance, tactical attacks by smaller units on ground and sea targets are meant. In air strikes be onboard automatic weapons ( machine guns and machine guns , bombs (freefall bombs and smart bombs) and missiles used). For battlefield lockdown and close air support (Close Air Support - CAS), air strikes, similar to artillery fire , are directed by a Forward Air Controller (FAC).

history

The first air raid in history took place on November 1, 1911 on a Turkish-occupied oasis in Libya . During the First World War , the bombing war began in 1915 with a British attack on German communications equipment at the Battle of Neuve-Chapelle . Since that time, the English term air strike was coined for the first time . The development of precision ammunition began during the Second World War , which meant that air strikes could be expanded from pure area bombing with free-fall bombs to targeted attacks against point targets. The great importance of precision attacks is supported by statistical surveys. During the Second World War, it often took over 100 area bombing attacks to eliminate a single point target. In the Gulf War , the US Air Force was able to use laser-guided bombs to hit planned targets directly without causing major collateral damage. Navigation systems such as LANTIRN enable, for example, low-level flight operations at night. For strategic purposes, air strikes can also take place outside of wars. An example of this is the Israeli Operation Opera 1981 on an Iraqi nuclear reactor, which took place without a prior declaration of war. In US military doctrine, air strikes have a high weighting, as they are intended to prevent the intervention of ground troops ( boots on the ground ). During the Syrian civil war, the Russian Federation also flew air strikes which, due to the conflict situation, could trigger a confrontation with the USA.

Known air strikes

Planning of air strikes

Modern air strikes are divided into the following phases

Target selection

The first priority when planning an air mission is the choice of target and the definition of the percentage of destruction. The type of target and the strength of the enemy air defense determine the choice of combat aircraft and weapons used. Targets with different values ​​can be airfields, supply facilities, barracks, bunkers, depots, oil refineries, communication centers, ammunition factories, bridges, command posts and command posts, silos for ICBMs , ships and the like. Due to their great importance, airfields are usually the most strongly defended and secured targets. For example, the shutdown of Port Stanley airfield was of central importance during the Falklands War .

Use of weapons

When choosing the use of weapons, the weapon systems and equipment for destroying / fighting the target and for suppressing enemy anti-aircraft fire must be taken into account. The combat load of the attack aircraft depends primarily on the respective load capacity and determines the attack tactics. The weapon load determines the speed, altitude, acceleration, fuel consumption (additional tanks) and the general maneuverability of the fighter aircraft. A high combat load, for example, is correlated with a reduced range. Typical fighter-bombers for air strikes on the west side are Grumman F-14 Tomcat, multipurpose fighter Tornado , McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle and General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon. A distinction is made between the following procedures in rocket guidance:

  • Active radar ( Fire-and-Forget ): Missile searches independently for a target with its own radar
  • semi-active radar (SAR): the aircraft must follow the target and the missile follows the rays reflected from the target
  • IR steering (Fire-and-Forget): missile follows the heat radiation of the target

commitment

Due to its great complexity, there are various interactions. An air strike consists of the following blocks:

  • enlightenment

The basic condition for an air strike is the adequate reconnaissance of the target area.

  • Attack mission (strike mission) and escort mission (escort mission)

The aircraft used are subdivided into attack and accompanying escort groups. The task of the escort rots is to hold down enemy anti-aircraft fire or to disturb them sustainably through ECM until the mission is over.

  • Flight route and schedule of the combat aircraft (Mission Routing and Scheduling) on ​​the outward flight to and on the return flight from the destination. The flight route of the TAC Strike Force (tactical attack aircraft) is divided into different stages according to a specific schedule: possible route changes due to changes in speed and altitude, time of refueling, target approach (adaptation to the shape of the terrain in low-level flight - contour flight), reaching the target, taking advantage of the Surprise moments, use of weapons, return flight, in-flight refueling and landing on planned airport / aircraft carrier. The approach route is determined by the location and strength of the enemy radar and defense screen (SAM batteries). It is usually flown at different altitudes: Hi - Lo - Hi, the actual attack phase then in low flight, as this is the most vulnerable.
  • Engagement Tactics Attack in one or more waves
  • Radio control (EMCON - Emission Control - transmission ban) The correct EMCON behavior is studied intensively on special test flights. A combat situation in a fighter aircraft is characterized by high stress from communication. Certain situations must be correctly assessed quickly using radio communications. For the enemy, the radio signal is usually the strongest source for locating and fighting an aircraft. Radio traffic is therefore subject to strict regulations.

The suppression of enemy air defense (SEAD - Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses ), for which Tornado ECR , F-16 and F-4 tactical fighters were primarily intended for a long time, is decisive for the success of an air strike . On the part of the Warsaw Pact, it was MiG-25 and Tupolev Tu-22M . In addition, ELOKA aircraft such as the EF-111A are of great importance. During the Cold War , they should only fly a little behind the front line in certain orbits, in order to be called in for an air strike of their own if necessary. In the event of an attack, these machines had a different range of tasks. For example, they were able to permanently irritate the approach of enemy interceptors by disrupting their distance (SOJ stand-off jamming). The attack itself was mostly carried out at high speed in low flight below the radar range, the main task being to disrupt the enemy SAM and AAM radar. The EF-111A accompanied the fighter-bombers on their missions. A single EF-111A was able to cut a corridor through the enemy radar scan for a larger formation of its own aircraft. Air combat maneuvers (ACM or dogfight) can occur when the Strike Force fighter planes collide with enemy interceptors. When locating and then fighting, a distinction is made between the visual range (WVR - within visual range) and outside the visual range (BVR - beyond visual range). Air battles in the overcast skies of Central Europe therefore took place predominantly under BVR conditions. The five phases of modern air combat consist of: localization (electronic, visual or through heat emission), approaching a favorable attack position, maneuver and take-off.

  • management
    • Route and schedule of command and control platforms: ASP (Airstrike Planner) and staff. On the NATO side , these included the RAF Strike Command and the Tactical Air Command . AWACS aircraft such as the American Boeing E-3 “Sentry” and the Soviet Beriev A-50 “Mainstay”, which, as “flying command posts”, can coordinate air strikes thanks to their powerful radar system. AWACS as “flying warning and control systems” detect low-flying fighter aircraft through IFF and TISEO (Target Identification System, electro-optical target recognition system) earlier than radar stations on the ground and are therefore also among the high-value targets of enemy air attacks. AWACS require strong hunting protection in order to be able to operate undisturbed.
    • Radio control (EMCON - Emission Control - transmission ban)
  • In-flight refueling
    • Flight route and schedule of the tanker aircraft
    • Storage of tanker planes and fuel requirements

Computer-aided decision-making aids are offered by programs such as WAASP (Weapon Allocation Aid for Strike Planning). Basically, a five-stage deployment planning is still valid in the 21st century.

  • Stage One: Objectives, Effects and Guidance This procedure also applies, modified, to the use of combat drones and cruise missiles .
  • Stage Two: Target Development
  • Tier Three: Weaponeering and Allocation
  • Stage Four: Air Tasking Order Production and Dissemination
  • Stage Five: Execution Planning and Force Execution

In the case of fighter pilots, time-sensitive targeting (dynamic targeting) takes place in the last phase of the attack.

  • Find: tracking down the target
  • Fix: fix the target
  • Track: Sensors record the target's movements and pass them on to the weapon control system of the fighter aircraft.
  • Target: After a quick chain of decisions, the order is given to fight the target.
  • Engage: triggering the weapon system
  • Assess: Determination of whether the target was hit or missed (hits vs. miss). Assessment of the damage caused by the air strike and whether a second attack is necessary.

Search and Rescue

  • Contingency plans

These may include alternative targets in case the first cannot be fought due to strong defensive measures. Changing weather conditions can also lead to a fundamental change in the attack plan. Situations in which the radio silence is interrupted must be determined in advance. This also includes the circumstances that lead to a complete abortion of the mission. Search and Rescue includes the measures that come into effect when pilots are shot down.

literature

  • Bill Gunston and Mike Spick: Moderne Kampfflugzeuge, Motorbuch Verlag, 2001, ISBN 978-3613019263 .
  • Thomas Hippler, from the French by Daniel Fastner: The government of heaven: Global history of aerial warfare. Matthes & Seitz Verlag Berlin. 2017. ISBN 978-3-95757-336-0 .
  • Olaf Groehler : History of the air war 1910 to 1980. Military publ. d. GDR. Berlin, 1981. ISBN 978-3327002186 .
  • Dana Bell: Air War Over Vietnam: volume 4. Arms & Armor Press. 1984. ISBN 978-0853686354 .
  • Norman Friedmann: Fighters Over the Fleet: Naval Air Defense from Biplanes to the Cold War. Pen & Sword Books Ltd. 2016. ISBN 978-1848324046 .
  • Santiago Rivas: Wings of the Malvinas: The Argentine Air War Over the Falklands. Hikoki Publications. 2012. ISBN 978-1902109220 .
  • Tim Ripley: Air War Iraq. Wharncliffe Books. 2004. ISBN 978-1844150694 .
  • Jim Corrigan: Desert Storm Air War: The Aerial Campaign against Saddam's Iraq in the 1991 Gulf War. Rowman & Littlefield, 2017. ISBN 978-0811717762 .
  • Babak Taghvaee: Air War on Terror. Helion & Company Limited. 2018. ISBN 978-1911096535 .
  • Jakub Marszalkiewicz: Air Combat During Arab-Israeli Wars (Library of Armed Conflicts). Kagero publishing house. 2017. ISBN 978-8365437495 .
  • Hugh Harkins: Air War over Syria - Tu-160, Tu-95MS & Tu-22M3: Cruise Missile and Bombing Strikes on Syria, November 2015 - February 2016. Centurion Publishing. 2016. ISBN 978-1903630655 .

Web links

Wiktionary: air raid  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations

Notes and individual references

  1. ↑ Russia wants to treat US planes in Syria as targets. The US military shoots down a Syrian fighter jet; Assad's ally Russia is responding with threats against Washington. The US wants to ease the situation quickly. Zeit Online, June 19, 2017
  2. ↑ Decision Aiding Concepts for Air Strike Planning. Technical Report 1454-AJR Simpson, 1980
  3. ^ Bill Gunston and Mike Spick: Moderne Kampfflugzeuge , Motorbuch Verlag, 2001, p. 184. ISBN 978-3613019263 .
  4. ^ Bill Gunston and Mike Spick: Moderne Kampfflugzeuge , Motorbuch Verlag, 2001, p. 186. ISBN 978-3613019263 .
  5. ^ Bill Gunston and Mike Spick: Moderne Kampfflugzeuge , Motorbuch Verlag, 2001, p. 188. ISBN 978-3613019263 .
  6. ^ Bill Gunston and Mike Spick: Moderne Kampfflugzeuge , Motorbuch Verlag, 2001, p. 185. ISBN 978-3613019263 .
  7. ↑ All aircraft emit infrared and electromagnetic energy through their engines, radios, radar, navigational aids and transponder codes, "said Maj. Todd Swanhart, 305th Operational Support Squadron tactics KC-10 chief." Radios put out the most useful energy to the enemy because it gives them direct information about the nature of the mission through voice communication, so we practice EMCON missions to prevent unnecessary emissions when needed during real-world scenarios . " Silent flight makes 'boom' in refuel mission. Air Mobility Command
  8. ^ Bill Gunston and Mike Spick: Moderne Kampfflugzeuge, Motorbuch Verlag, 2001, p. 60 ISBN 978-3613019263 .
  9. ^ Surface to Air Missile
  10. ↑ Air to Air Missile
  11. ^ Bill Gunston and Mike Spick: Moderne Kampfflugzeuge, Motorbuch Verlag, 2001, p. 186. ISBN 978-3613019263 .
  12. ^ Bill Gunston and Mike Spick: Moderne Kampfflugzeuge, Motorbuch Verlag, 2001, p. 175. ISBN 978-3613019263 .
  13. ^ Bill Gunston and Mike Spick: Moderne Kampfflugzeuge, Motorbuch Verlag, 2001, p. 186. ISBN 978-3613019263 .
  14. ↑ How it Works: A US Military Airstrike. The airstrike has become one of the most frequently used tactics by America's military. Launching an airstrike is a six-step process, one that can vary greatly or change on the fly in the fluid scenario of a war zone. Here's how the Pentagon plans, executes, and evaluates an airstrike. Popular Mechanics