Libya Update Thread - 48 hours for Libyan Freedom ??

[rmt_1982]

Do we have any contacts Fairford way that could shed any light on probability of op's there, B2's and the like?
Cheers
Pune

Do you honestly think anyone in the know would say so on an open forum?
Anyway the United States are keen to take a step back from this asap and there is no need to forward deploy any of the big 3 as was demonstrated over the weekend, so unless it goes to all out war I doubt it. These air strikes are just to take out AD and C+C of Libya in order to carry out the main mission of operating a "no fly zone" not to systematically destroy the Libyan Armed Forces.

If they wanted to destroy the Libyan armed forces, they'd have prepositioned assets in England and the like beforehand, and they would have employed a 'rolling thunder' type tactic.

[pikey01]

Do we have any contacts Fairford way that could shed any light on probability of op's there, B2's and the like?
Cheers
Pune

Do you honestly think anyone in the know would say so on an open forum?
Anyway the United States are keen to take a step back from this asap and there is no need to forward deploy any of the big 3 as was demonstrated over the weekend, so unless it goes to all out war I doubt it. These air strikes are just to take out AD and C+C of Libya in order to carry out the main mission of operating a "no fly zone" not to systematically destroy the Libyan Armed Forces.

Not very often I can say this...I agree with Thunder

[TankBuster]

Re- the F-15E incident, there may be a news report on it at 18.30 hrs tonight on BBC Look East, as they often report on the goings on at Lakenheath as it is in the local Anglia region which Look East covers.

For those of you outside the Anglia region the Look East regional news can be picked up on Sky channel 981.


TankBuster

[Thunder]

Do we have any contacts Fairford way that could shed any light on probability of op's there, B2's and the like?
Cheers
Pune

Do you honestly think anyone in the know would say so on an open forum?
Anyway the United States are keen to take a step back from this asap and there is no need to forward deploy any of the big 3 as was demonstrated over the weekend, so unless it goes to all out war I doubt it. These air strikes are just to take out AD and C+C of Libya in order to carry out the main mission of operating a "no fly zone" not to systematically destroy the Libyan Armed Forces.

Not very often I can say this...I agree with Thunder

????? Is that a compliment

[Focal_Plane]

Al Jazerra reported that today, and I quote; "Western warplanes attacked a military aircraft belonging to Muammar Gaddafi's armed forces that was flying towards the rebel-held city of Benghazi".

Has anyone seen any further reports or information on this anwhere on the web? Been digging but can`t find anything else.

Regards

John

[crashman]

Info sent to me by a friend who works on the heath:

Liberty Wing,

I'd like to take a moment to give you the facts that I know, and am allowed to release, regarding the crash of one of our F-15E Strike Eagles. You may pass this information to your family and friends. My goal is to reduce rumors and speculation.

Our Wing forward deployed aircraft to Aviano Airbase, Italy where we are supporting the international effort to enforce the No-Fly-Zone and protect innocent civilians within Libya. Last night, March 21, at approximately 10:30 CET one of our F-15E aircraft experienced a malfunction and the two crew members safely ejected in a remote area of Libya.

Both crew members are safe. Their identities are withheld to protect their privacy and I request you refrain from speculation.

The pilot and weapons officer demonstrated incredible skill and discipline in making a time-critical decision to eject from their aircraft. They proved the value of their military training by coordinating the rescue force. The Marine Force from the USS Kearsarge demonstrated extraordinary readiness and capability in conducting a daring night-time rescue.

The conduct of military aviation is never without risk. I am proud of the skill of our aviators and the professionalism they demonstrated. Please keep all of our Airmen deployed around the globe in your thoughts and prayers. If you have further questions regarding our operations, I encourage you to talk to your supervisors and commanders. To the degree that we can release information without adding risk to our mission and our people, we will make every effort to do so. Please help me by not adding to the speculation that can grow like a wildfire on some of the social media sights.

Thanks for your support!

Col John Quintas
48th Fighter Wing Commander

[Thunder]

F15 US CSAR assets shot up local friendlies...including kids..whey to go boys..why am I not surprised!

From what source did that come from?

[POL]

Ghaddafi's forces in Libyan State TV...

[TankBuster]

There's some nice pictures of F-15E 91-0304 in happier times over on airliners.net...


http://www.airliners.net/search/photo.s ... ers.net%2F" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

TankBuster

[Pune]

Nice one Crashman, from the horses mouth so to speak.
Cheers

[Thunder]

CSAR shooting up friendlies..reported on BBC and daily telegraph..

Uncomfirmed reports although the DoD has said shots were fired, have you ever heard of "securing the perimeter" and "covering fire" Combat Search and Rescue isn't called that for nothing. It's ok to sit behind a computer and type but when you're in the thick of it, in hostile terrority where everyman and his dog owns a AK and not to mention an enemy that are known to have infiltrated the local communities it's a different story.

[POL]

Yeah yeah.same old excuses..I always thought soldiers were motivated by the risk..not the opportunity to fire at civvies..imagine someone flying over your house shooting at your kids..and these are supposed to be on your side..poor..whatever the excuses..

You may wish to a) Reconsider your position and b) Ask for your account to be removed from this forum, clearly you do not understand what's going on in the world...

[crashman]

These guys fly into hostile airspace with an unknown amount of hostile ground troops in the area, not only do they have to collect the downed aircrew they also have to protect there aircraft, as unfortunate as any civilian casualities are, i can also see how it would / could have happened in that situation. i dont think any excuses are being made, just dedicated troops doing there job.

[rmt_1982]

Yeah yeah.same old excuses..I always thought soldiers were motivated by the risk..not the opportunity to fire at civvies..imagine someone flying over your house shooting at your kids..and these are supposed to be on your side..poor..whatever the excuses..

Are you just acting like a fool, or does it come naturally for you?

[Thunder]

Yeah yeah.same old excuses..I always thought soldiers were motivated by the risk..not the opportunity to fire at civvies..imagine someone flying over your house shooting at your kids..and these are supposed to be on your side..poor..whatever the excuses..

I take it from that reply and attitude you don't have any Military experience or experience on the battlefield?

[rmt_1982]

unconfirmed reports by locals seem to implicate a second jet firing on locals and NOT the SAR crew. as i said it's unconfirmed but comes from the same source as the original report. Hope this helps

Rich

Perhaps it was an attempt to destroy the airframe and prevent sensitive info/equipment getting into the wrong hands?

[turbosix]

No point casting judgement on these reports until they are confirmed, at least!!

Just caught the BBC1 News headlines and there was no mention of friendly fire.......

[Thunder]

unconfirmed reports by locals seem to implicate a second jet firing on locals and NOT the SAR crew. as i said it's unconfirmed but comes from the same source as the original report. Hope this helps

Rich

According to offical DoD sources the downed Aircrew requested for 2 x 500lb GBU's(GBU-12's?) to be dropped in close proximity to the crash/rescue site as a show of force. They obviously felt threatened by something and wanted to deter it. Don't know if this is what the locals are referring to

[Tooks]

They just had an interview on BBC News 24 with a wounded guy whose son was badly injured in the rescue. He was extraordinarily gracious in his comments that his and his sons injuries were a price wortH paying if it meant Gadaffis forces were driven away. A credit to the Libyan people that guy.

As above, unless we were put in the exact same position as the aircrew and rescuers, it's impossible to say how we would react, so therefore I don't think we are in a position to judge/criticise anybody involved.

Any bloodshed is regrettable, but in conflicts like this its inevitable I fear.

I wish the injured a speedy recovery.

[Duane Hewitt]

It's always going to be a tough one to call. You're in a hostile nation where anyone could be enemy to you. It's been mentioned they requested use of munitions as a 'Show of force' so they've obviously felt threatened to call on that. Also without knowing the size of the crowd that was fired upon you can't really assess the split second decisions the crews have needed to make in the situation. You see a large group which could be seen as an angry mob bearing on the friendlies. It's a fragile situation however, and we can at least be thankful that one of those fired upon has understood the situation and holds no grudges.