The Syrian airfield prepare for reception of military aircraft of China
The latest news about fast emergence in borders of Syria of navy of China encouraged Syrians and res[...]
2003
JANUARY 10 At Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, the U. S. Strategic Command (STRATCOM) is tasked with four new missions, including global strike, integrated missile defense, integrated information operations, and C4ISR (global command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance).
FEBRUARY 1 Two hundred thousand feet above East Texas, the space shuttle Columbia breaks up in the atmosphere, disintegrating only 15 minutes from touchdown. All seven astronauts die, including Navy Captain David M. Brown, Captain Laurel Clark, and Commander William C. McCool and Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Michael Anderson and Colonel Rick Husband. This is also the 113th shuttle mission, and the Columbia’s 28th venture into space.
FEBRUARY 8 In Washington, D. C., the Department of Defense begins contracting with commercial airlines to deliver troops and supplies to the Persian Gulf region. This is in anticipation of another conflict with Iraq and involves activation of the Civil Reserve Air Fleet (CRAF).
MARCH 11 Over Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, a C-130 test drops a 21,500- pound Massive Ordnance Air Blast weapon for the first time; this is the largest non-nuclear explosive currently in existence.
MARCH 17 Over northern Iraq, the final mission connected to Operation northern watch is conducted.
March 18—19 Just prior to war with Iraq, Air Force planes begin dropping informational leaflets on 20 civilian locations. An EC-130 Commando Solo aircraft also broadcasts messages for alert Iraqi citizens to take cover.
MARCH 19 Operation iraqi freedom commences as Air Force F-117 Nighthawks drop precision-guided munitions on Iraqi communication and command centers. Meanwhile, over southern Iraq, Operation southern watch concludes over the southern nofly zone.
MARCH 20 Over Iraq, swarms of 500 coalition aircraft, mostly from Great Britain and the United States, attack Iraqi antiaircraft and missile radar defenses, along with command and control centers. These include F-117 Stealth fighters and cruise missiles fired from at least six U. S. warships aimed at “leadership targets of opportunity.” All told, coalition air and sea forces unleash 1,000 Tomahawks and over 3,000 precision-guided munitions against significant targets.
MARCH 21 In the Arabian Gulf, an Iraqi
fast-attack patrol boat is tracked by a Navy P-3 Orion, then destroyed by an Air Force AC-130 Spectre gunship.
MARCH 22 Over Iraq, coalition force aircraft launch over 1,000 sorties and a like number of cruise missiles at military targets.
MARCH 23 Over Kuwait, an American F-16 knocks out a Patriot battery after its radar locks on to it; no casualties occur.
MARCH 24 Over Kirkuk, Iraq, coalition force aircraft bombard military targets near the oil-producing center over a 24- hour period.
MARCH 26 Over northern Iraq, Operation northern delay commences as 15 C-17 Globemaster IIIs insert 990 paratroopers onto Bashur Airfield. This is also the first time that parachutists have dropped from C-17s. The crew of the lead aircraft wins a Mackay Trophy for orchestrating an intricate maneuver.
April 2 Over Iraq, B-52s drop CBU-105 cluster bombs on Iraqi armored units. These are armor-piercing, sensor-fused weapons, and devastate tank formations. Meanwhile, an F-15C fighter-bomber mistakes an MLRS missile launcher from 1st Battalion, 39th Field Artillery, for a Soviet-designed Iraqi vehicle and directs a laser-guided GBU-12 bomb to it; several soldiers are killed.
April 7 Over Baghdad, Iraq, a B-1B Lancer from the 34th Bomb Squadron drops four GBU-31 satellite-guided joint direct attack munitions (JDAM) on a restaurant where Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein and his two sons were lodged; Hussein is not there, but the attack kills several senior Iraqi leaders. A C-130 Hercules also deploys the first Army troops to
Baghdad International Airport under the cover of darkness.
APRIL 8 Over Baghdad, Iraq, ground fire brings down an A-10 Thunderbolt II, although the pilot escapes capture and is secured by coalition forces near the airport. A surface-to-air missile also destroys an F – 15E Strike Eagle, killing both crewmen.
APRIL 11 Over Iraq, a B-52 employs a Litening II advanced airborne targeting and navigation pod to hit Iraqi facilities on an airfield.
April 12 At Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico, a Missile Defense Agency rocket sled reaches 6,416 miles per hour at a high-speed test track; this is also a world’s speed record.
May In Washington, D. C., the Air Force declares it will lease 100 Boeing KC-767 tankers to replace its aging fleet of KC – 135s.
MAY 1 Over northern Iraq, Operation northern watch, begun as a no-fly zone on January 1, 1997, finally ends.
AUGUST 29 The last of 14 Defense Satellite Communications System (DSCS III) satellites are placed in orbit, finishing a project that was begun in 1981.