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SAS skills used by American pilots to hit moving al-Qaida targets ============================================ Richard Norton-Taylor Monday July 22, 2002 The Guardian The SAS taught the Americans how to direct high-flying aircraft to moving targets on the ground, a tactic widely used in Afghanistan, a leading US official disclosed at the weekend. James Roche, the American air force secretary, said SAS patrols hunting mobile Scud missile launchers in the 1991 Gulf war used laser targeting equipment which was later used by US forces in Afghanistan against Taliban and al-Qaida fighters. "In the Iraqi conflict the SAS was quite good in spotting the Scuds and we picked up on their skills. The SAS did it first," said Mr Roche ,who is in Britain attending this week's Farnborough air fair. The US adopted SAS tactics in Kosovo and later in Afghanistan using satellite-guided bombs to within 1,000 metres of their targets. Asked why there was "collateral damage" - bombs missing targets or hitting civilians - Mr Roche replied: "Nothing works 100% of the time." He said map coordinates had to be tapped in by air crew by hand. Asked about plans for an American attack on Iraq, Mr Roche replied that the military "do lots of contingency planning". He indicated that the time it would take to move a large number of US forces to the Middle East was much shorter than during the 1991 Gulf conflict. US and British pilots who had flown more than 200,000 sorties patrolling the "no fly" zones over southern and northern Iraq since the Gulf war, and other sources, had shown that Iraq had bolstered its air defence system. "These are bright people," Mr Roche said. During a briefing to journalists, accompanied by General John Jumper, chief of staff of the US air force, Mr Roche painted a picture of more sophisticated bombing campaigns in the future with the development of "smart" bombs directed by special forces behind enemy lines to suspected sites producing weapons of mass destruction. These would be dropped by high-flying aircraft able to circle for much longer without refuelling. Satellites and aircraft would provide the US with "24 hours a day stealth assets" and would be able to "track movements in all weather". Small diameter bombs would be able to strike people hiding "under a viaduct or near an antiquity" without destroying the constructions or buildings. Mr Roche was discussing with BAE Systems, Britain's main defence company, the need to develop "swarms" of armed pilotless aircraft such as the US Predator, which could "stay and stare" at the enemy for long periods. He said intelligence gathering was a priority, with tanker refuelling aircraft to be equipped with sensors. Speed was key, reducing the time between finding a target and attacking it. Firing a cruise missile 45 minutes afterwards was "too late", he said. Despite the US programme developing hi-tech warfare, the new systems would not be operational for some years - after any attack on Iraq later this year or early next. For the Europeans to "plug in and play", he said, they needed to invest in secure communications and "precision" bombs. Guardian Unlimited � Guardian Newspapers Limited 2002 --------------------------- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST ==^================================================================ This email was sent to: [email protected] EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.bacIlu Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================
