You have commented 0 times on Rantburg.

We're sorry, but only human beings are allowed to comment on Rantburg. If you're a human being, please take this simple test to prove it. If you're not, get lost.

Why is this man laughing?
Al Capp's Moonbeam McSwine
Caveman
A cat. It is not in a hat.
The Hindenberg, though not its finest hour
Your Name
Your e-mail (optional)
Website (optional)
My Original Nic        Pic-a-Nic        Sorry. Comments have been closed on this article.
Bold Italic Underline Strike Bullet Blockquote Small Big Link Squish Photo
Iraq
More than 1,700 bombs dropped in US-led air war
2014-10-25
[ARABNEWS] US and allied aircraft have flown nearly 6,600 sorties in the air war against the IS group and dropped more than 1,700 bombs, the American military said Thursday.

The flights for "Operation Inherent Resolve" include thousands of mid-air fueling runs, surveillance sorties and 632 air strikes in Iraq and Syria, according to US Central Command.

The latest tally was released one month since the US-led coalition extended its air campaign from Iraq into Syria, in a bid to counter the advance of the IS men.

The effect of the open-ended air campaign remains the subject of debate, with the White House saying the snuffies have been damaged by the strikes and critics pointing to the group's battlefield successes despite the raids.

Coalition aircraft have targeted IS snuffies with more than 1,700 bombs and missiles since Aug. 8 in both Iraq and Syria, Central Command said in a statement.

Washington often stresses that a broad coalition is fighting the Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems....
bully boys, but US aircraft have conducted the overwhelming majority of the strikes so far.

Out of 632 bombing raids, non-US coalition members, including four Arab states, carried out only 79 of the strikes, Central Command said.

In Iraq, aircraft from Australia, Belgium, Britannia, and the Netherlands have taken part in the strikes along with the US.

And in Syria, the Americans have been joined by combat aircraft from Bahrain, Jordan, Soddy Arabia
...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face...
and the UAE, it said.
Posted by:Fred

#10  Instead of "Inherent Resolve", a more accurate name would have been "We're going in half-assed and hope to wear them out".
Posted by: gorb   2014-10-25 20:34  

#9  "Operation Inherent Resolve?" That's a crappy name for an operation. Inherent resolve to do what; to not hurt anyone? Inherent resolve is dropping a bomb every 2-2.5 missions?
Posted by: JohnQC   2014-10-25 18:14  

#8  Also every refueling tanker, AWAC flight and support flight is a sortie. Hence the large sortie vs bomb number.
Posted by: DarthVader   2014-10-25 16:31  

#7   More than 1,700 bombs dropped in US-led air war

..and that was just at the White House press briefings (punctuated with "Me, myself, and I")
Posted by: Procopius2k   2014-10-25 10:47  

#6  This little bastid (Tiger Shark UAV) saves a lot of AVGAS and pilot recce flight hours. Of course you have to be close enough to the fight to use it.
Posted by: Besoeker   2014-10-25 10:09  

#5  Interesting question. Here's another - why does it take an average of nearly four sorties to drop a single bomb?

Been a while since I've done any air-ground operations, and I've never had anything to do with Naval Air, but I suspect many of the sorties are recce, targeting missions.
Posted by: Besoeker   2014-10-25 10:02  

#4  Bad, you send a plane out with a couple bombs and a recon pod. On the way out it takes pictures of a previously bombed target and on the way back it can take pics of a not-yet-bombed target.
Posted by: Thing From Snowy Mountain   2014-10-25 09:51  

#3  My guess:

1) Recon
2) Bomb
3) Bomb damage assessment
4) Rebomb to clean up targets missed
Posted by: badanov   2014-10-25 09:48  

#2  Interesting question. Here's another - why does it take an average of nearly four sorties to drop a single bomb?

I suppose some planes might even drop multiple bombs, meaning 75-80% of the ordinance comes back to base - unused. We're wasting a lot of JP-4.
Posted by: Bobby   2014-10-25 09:44  

#1  Let's suppose at least one IS "soldier" is killed with each bomb. Where are the casualties?
Posted by: gorb   2014-10-25 00:15