| Submit your comments on this article |
| Arabia |
| Dress Rehearsal |
| 2011-06-29 |
| Are the UAE and Qatar Emiri Air Forces using the NATO intervention in Libya they are partaking in as a dress rehearsal of sorts for a possible future attack against Iran they may have to undertake if they feel directly threatened? |
| Posted by:tipper |
| #5 We're talking Arabs here, not Poles. |
| Posted by: Pappy 2011-06-29 21:53 |
| #4 Are Polish maneuvers a dress rehearsal of sorts for a future attack against Germany? - Berliner Zeitung, 1938 |
| Posted by: Eohippus Phater7165 2011-06-29 17:56 |
| #3 Qatar plays is part of the Gulf Cooperation Council (the other five members are Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, the UAE and Oman). Aircraft: 12 Aerospatiale SA342L Gazelle - AgustaWestland AW139 18 on order 2 Boeing C-17A Globemaster III 3 Dassault Mirage 2000-5DDA 9 Dassault Mirage 2000-5EDA 6 Dassault-Breguet Dornier Alpha - Lockheed Martin C-130J-30 Hercules 4 on order 2 Westland Commando Mk.2 7 Westland Commando Mk.3 Note that the USAF also has a facilities-use agreement with Qatar. From the State Department: "The [UAE] Air Force has advanced U.S. F-16 BLOCK 60 multi-role fighter aircraft. Other equipment includes French Mirage 2000-9 fighters, British Hawk trainer aircraft, 36 transport aircraft and U.S. Apache and Black Hawk helicopters." They've also picked up or are picking up C-17 transports. |
| Posted by: Pappy 2011-06-29 16:26 |
| #2 Interesting speculation. Nothing like a bit of live-fire training. What's important is being able to sustain a high operational tempo without running out of bombs, spares, fuel, and crew rest. Takes organization only expensive manuvers can provide. So, do we have a high operational tempo for the folks in question? Do we have somebody else providing the logistics? How many pilots and front-line maintainers and loggy guys are under some kind of operational pressure? Still, even having a few guys shot over, as the Brits used to say, is a benefit. Against Iran? Not by themselves. As a minor part of a bigger op, they might be able to claim some credit, and justifiably so. |
| Posted by: Richard Aubrey 2011-06-29 16:09 |
| #1 I think we all know the relative capability of the Iranian Air Force. What's out there on the UAE and Qatar forces? |
| Posted by: Steve White 2011-06-29 11:24 |