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Tomahawk and flighter F22 air strikes upon ISIS extremistic organizationl auched from US military

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• published: 22 Oct 2014
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Airstrikes against Islamic State terrorists in Iraq and Syria this week featured the combat debut of the Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor stealth fighter, and of the Royal Saudi Air Force F-15S Strike Eagle. The air forces of Bahrain, France, Jordan, Qatar and the UAE also participated, and the Royal Australian Air Force is en route to the fight with F-18s and a Wedgetail AEW aircraft. The U.S. began striking targets in Iraq on August 7, and the effort to stem the advance of Islamic State and other terrorist groups from the air has increased steadily since then. But with war-weary American and European publics making a significant intervention by ground troops politically impossible, it remains to be seen whether air strikes alone can create the conditions for stability that would allow the emergence of regimesthat do not threaten Western interests. The new Iraqi regime has allowed unrestricted access to its airspace by coalition air forces, but has still not appointed a defense minister and other key officials. According to Washington, no permission was sought from the Syrian government for this week’s airstrikes, although the Assad regime was informed in advance. NATO member Turkey has not allowed the use of its airbases, complicating the planning and execution of missions that have been coordinated by U.S. Central Command in Tampa, Fla. According to President Obama, the armed forces of more than 40 nations are represented there. The F-22s dropped 1,000-pound JDAM bombs against targets in northern Syria. Intelligence on whether air defense systems were active there, such as to require low-observability strikes, has not been made public. (Equally, there has been no public discussion about whether Islamic State rebels have operational control of air defense systems in the territory that they control in northern Iraq, or whether Iraqi troops have defected to IS with such systems). As in previous air campaigns against defended targets, the U.S. first launched large numbers of Tomahawk cruise missiles from ships. The U.S. has also used B-1s, F-15s, F-16s, Raptor UAVs and carrier-based F-18s in attacks. The other air forces have used F-15s, F-16s, Mirage 2000s and Rafales. It remains unclear whether the U.S. and British policy of “no combat boots on the ground” extends to the special forces that could identify and designate targets for precision air attack. In the absence of such forces, air campaign planners are relying on overhead satellite imagery for fixed targets, supplemented by radar and electro-optical imagery from USAF U-2 reconnaissance aircraft, and for mobile targets by full-motion video from USAF Predator and Reaper UAVs. Targets have included a supposed IS C2 facility and small-scale oil refineries. “The kind of attacks we’re conducting in Syria are strategic-level. We’re trying to remove the means by which [Islamic State] sustains itself,” said a Pentagon spokesman. In Iraq, the targets are more “tactical,” he continued. They have included armored vehicles, presumably captured from Iraqi forces. As of today, one notable absentee from the air strike force has been the UK, although the British government decided yesterday to seek Parliamentary approval for Royal Air Force Tornado strike aircraft based at RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus to attack targets in Iraq but not Syria. Tomahawk and flighter F22 air strikes upon ISIS extremistic organizationlauched from US military,for more informtion about video film files visit site at http://youtube.com/user/cosmeticmachines as well as business website at http://penglaichina.com