AT SEA: U.S. WAR PLANES CONTINUE TAKING OFF AND LANDING ON USS ABRAHAM LINCOLN FOR MISSIONS OVER IRAQ
Record ID:
208373
AT SEA: U.S. WAR PLANES CONTINUE TAKING OFF AND LANDING ON USS ABRAHAM LINCOLN FOR MISSIONS OVER IRAQ
- Title: AT SEA: U.S. WAR PLANES CONTINUE TAKING OFF AND LANDING ON USS ABRAHAM LINCOLN FOR MISSIONS OVER IRAQ
- Date: 27th March 2003
- Summary: (U6) ABOARD THE USS ABRAHAM LINCOLN IN THE GULF (MARCH 25, 2003) (REUTERS) 1. AERIAL VIEW OF USS ABRAHAM LINCOLN 0.26 2. AV VIKING AIRCRAFT LAUNCHING 0.33 3. SLV C-2 GREYHOUND UNFOLDING WINGS 0.41 4. SLV F-18 HORNET ON THE DECK 0.46 5. SLV C-2 GREYHOUND LAUNCHING 0.55 6. MV CREWMEMBER; LANDING AND TAXIING PLANE FROM COCKPIT (2 SHOTS) 1.07 7. SCU PILOT IN COCKPIT OF F-18 SUPERHORNET 1.18 8. MV WINGS WITH SIDEWINDER MISSILES FOLDING "CAPTAIN K C ALBRIGHT" WRITTEN ON SIDE OF COCKPIT 1.24 9. MV PILOT TAXIING AIRCRAFT; MV JET; PILOT TAXIING ON FLIGHT DECK; MV CREWMEMBERS WATCHING; SCU INTERIOR OF COCKPIT JUST PRIOR TO LAUNCH (5 SHOTS) 2.07 10. SLV F-18 SUPERHORNET LAUNCHING OFF DECK 2.12 (U6) AIRBORNE ABOARD AN F-18 SUPERHORNET OVER IRAQ (MARCH 24, 2003) (REUTERS) 11. SCU COCKPIT WHILE AIRBORNE; AV JET FLYING THROUGH CLOUDS; SCU PILOT IN JET; AV JET ROLLING; SCU PILOT (5 SHOTS) 2.48 12. AV JET TANKING FROM FELLOW F-18 SUPERHORNET IN MID-AIR; SCU PILOT (2 SHOTS) 3.08 13. AV JET RELEASES FROM BASKET; JETS PASSING EACH OTHER; SCU PILOT; AV JET FLYING OVER IRAQI TERRITORY, VISIBLE THROUGH HAZE (5 SHOTS) 4.08 (U6) ABOARD THE USS ABRAHAM LINCOLN IN THE GULF (MARCH 25, 2003) (REUTERS) 14. AV /SLV F-18 SUPERHORNET LANDING 4.29 Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
- Embargoed: 11th April 2003 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: AT SEA IN THE GULF ABOARD THE USS ABRAHAM LINCOLN
- Country: AT SEA
- Reuters ID: LVACI92GNLFVSZBL2K72O19IPFDT
- Story Text: Weather is becoming an increasingly difficult factor
for the U.S. and British military on the ground and in the air
fighting in the war against Iraq.
Despite a fierce sandstorm in Iraq, jets from the USS
Abraham Lincoln and two other aircraft carriers in the Gulf
continued to fly strike missions and provide air support over
Iraq throughout the day on Tuesday (March 25, 2003).
One of the pilots who flew a close air support mission on
Tuesday, said visibility was very bad down low but above
10,000 feet (3,000 metres) it was relatively clear.
His plane was armed with satellite-guided bombs rather
than laser-guided, the weapon of choice for this sort of
mission. A forward air controller, either in the air or on the
ground, would normally point out a target with a laser but
with visibility so low, that was not an option on Tuesday.
Senior officers on the USS Abraham Lincoln said on Monday
(March 24) that sandstorms could be a big challenge for
U.S.-led forces in Iraq in coming days.
Warplanes from the Lincoln kept up a high pace of sorties
on Monday and Tuesday, including missions to provide air
support for ground troops in Iraq.
Navy F/A-18 Hornets and Super Hornets as well as F-14
Tomcats from the Lincoln and two other carriers in the Gulf
have been flying missions around the clock in Iraq. Around 30
other ships have been launching missile strikes on Iraq.
Another two U.S. aircraft carriers are launching strikes
from the Mediterranean in the war aimed at ousting President
Saddam Hussein.
Sandstorms can cut visibility to almost zero and force
dust into high-tech equipment. It also cuts the efficiency of
U.S. thermal imaging gear that allows troops to see the heat
given off by the bodies of Iraqi forces in the dark.
But it also has benefits for U.S.-led forces, cooling the
desert heat for attackers wearing stifling chemical weapons
protection suits. Many modern missiles and bombs are
unaffected by the weather since they rely on satellite
navigation.
- Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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