WASHINGTON -- At the dawn of the Persian Gulf war seven years ago, cruise missiles rained down on high-priority targets in Iraq as a prelude to the allied invasion. Last night, those same missiles heralded a military operation dubbed "Desert Fox."
Shortly after 1 a.m. in Iraq (5 p.m. EST), more than 100 Tomahawk cruise missiles, fired from Navy ships in the northern Persian Gulf, arced northwest toward Iraq, Pentagon sources said.
They were followed by dozens of aircraft that roared off the carrier USS Enterprise into the blackness. Among them were F-14 Tomcats, F/A-18 Hornets and EA-6B Prowlers, a radar jamming jet.
Today, some of the 15 B-52 Stratofortress bombers will lumber north from the island of Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean and strike Iraq with air-launched cruise missiles, along with Air Force F-16s and other bombers and attack aircraft. Another carrier, the USS Carl Vinson, is speeding from the Indian Ocean to the gulf.
British Tornado attack aircraft also will take part in what is expected to be a four-day bombing campaign on dozens of biological and chemical weapons production and storage sites, along with military units and facilities of the elite Iraqi Republican Guard troops.
The 1,000-pound Tomahawks have a thousand-mile range. The air-launched missiles, which weigh 3,200 pounds, can be fired from 1,500 miles away. They struck -- and will continue to hit -- military headquarters, command and control centers, radar and anti-aircraft installations throughout the country to pave the way for the attack aircraft.
Eight of the 22 Navy ships in the region were capable of firing Tomahawks. The Aegis cruiser USS Gettysburg can fire up to 122 missiles; a B-52 can carry 20 air-launched missiles, though both would likely carry far fewer, defense officials said.
At the same time, six guided missile destroyers -- including the USS Paul Hamilton and the USS Hopper -- also were among the ships in that early strike, along with the attack sub USS Miami.
Heading the battle group is a 1970 Naval Academy graduate, Rear. Adm. James Cutler Dawson Jr., who took part in the gulf war as commander of the USS Princeton and is now aboard the carrier USS Enterprise. A 1973 Naval Academy graduate, Capt. Evan M. Chanik, is commanding officer of the Enterprise and led an F/A-18 squadron during the gulf war.
During the past year's cat-and-mouse game with Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, the United States has beefed up its cruise-missile arsenal in the gulf by 50 percent. Now, there are an estimated 300 cruise missiles, which can strike a target with pinpoint accuracy and cause devastating damage.
There are 201 aircraft in the region. Besides some 80 aircraft aboard the Enterprise, the Air Force has three dozen F-15 and F-16 fighters, along with four B-1 bombers from desert bases in the gulf. Britain has several warships and at least a dozen Tornado attack jets based in the gulf.
Defense Secretary William S. Cohen and Army Gen. Henry Hugh Shelton, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said that additional forces will be sent to the region to supplement the 24,000 troops. Among them will be several dozen Air Force F-15 and F-16 fighters, as well as 10 F-117 Stealth fighters.
In addition there is an Army Ready Brigade from Fort Stewart, Ga., three Patriot missile batteries from Fort Bliss, Texas, and Fort Bragg, N.C., as well as military police, signal and air defense units and chemical and biological detection units.
As in last month's aborted operation, "Desert Thunder," the U.S. military plans to bomb dozens of sites throughout Iraq.
For weeks, Pentagon and administration officials have said the goal of any attack is to "degrade" Hussein's capability to both produce weapons of mass destruction and threaten neighboring countries. And any bombing would also target his Republican Guard units, which officials said have already started to disperse from their barracks.
Pub Date: 12/17/98