|
|
|||||||
|
|
|||||||
|
News Search
|
|
8-2-03 Scotsman Air chief looks for a short and sharp campaign By Gethin Chamberlain ANY air campaign against Iraq will be short and decisive, although Allied forces would be wrong to assume their opponents will be a complete pushover, one of Britain's most senior airmen predicted yesterday. Air Commodore Martin Routledge, who, as Air Officer Scotland, is in charge of the RAF in the country, said units which are sent to the Gulf could expect to encounter stiff resistance from anti-aircraft missiles and gun positions. But he said he believed the RAF and the United States' air force would quickly achieve air superiority in any coming campaign. Air Commodore Routledge was speaking at RAF Leuchars, in Fife, as an expeditionary force of about 100 RAF aircraft and an estimated 7,000 personnel from across the UK were preparing to deploy to the Gulf in preparation for any military action against Iraq. The force will include Tornado G3 fighter aircraft from 111(Fighter) Squadron, based at Leuchars, and Tornado GR4 ground attack aircraft from Lossiemouth, which start deploying from today. Air Commodore Routledge said: "This is clearly what we train for. Expeditionary air force is the current defence posture and the way forward for us since the end of the Cold War. We've put a lot of effort into being a modern expeditionary air force. "Air power is absolutely classic for this style of operation. We can deploy very rapidly, we can deploy in strength and provide real punch, and hopefully, at times, prevent a crisis from descending into conflict. "But if it does descend into conflict, we will be ready and well trained to take that conflict forward. Air power does bring impressive capability these days and with the assets being deployed, I personally would expect the air campaign to be short and very decisive." He said the Iraqi air force, mainly consisting of Russian aircraft and some French Mirages, was short of spares but should not be written off completely. "As they showed recently, when they managed to shoot down one of the unmanned aircraft, the Predator, they do have an air defence capability. They also have a large number of surface-to-air missiles and aircraft guns, so we should not expect it to be a complete walk-over." It was a view shared by Squadron Leader Tim Bullement, who will initially be deployed in the southern no-fly zone but could be called upon to provide fighter cover for the bombers if the crisis escalates. "It's not something we go into with particular relish. We have to be as professional and objective about it as we can be," he said. "We have to respect the enemy whoever they may be and the professionalism of their forces. It would be a mistake to underestimate any opponent." But Sqdn Ldr Bullement, 37, who will leave behind his wife, baby daughter and two-year-old son, said that it "would be hard to think of the job as anything other than exciting". The deployment is expected to involve about 80 per cent of RAF aircraft based in Scotland, including Nimrod MR2 reconnaissance aircraft and personnel from RAF Kinloss in Moray. At RAF Lossiemouth, home to 70 Tornado aircraft and around 3,000 service and civilian personnel, Wing Commander David Bye, the acting station chief, said: "This sizeable contribution is only to be expected given the station's importance within the structure of the RAF." The station has three operational Tornado GR4 units, 12 Squadron, 14 Squadron and 617 Squadron, as well as a training squadron and support personnel for worldwide operations.
|
|
||||
|
................................................................................................................. Copyright ©2004 Gethin Chamberlain. All rights reserved. |
|||||||
