| Operation Southern Watch | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of theIraqi no-fly zones conflict | |||||||
 TwoF-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft from theTexas Air National Guard andNew Jersey Air National Guard prepare to departPrince Sultan Air Base on a patrol as part of Operation Southern Watch in 2000. | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 United States United Kingdom France (until 1998)[1] Saudi Arabia |  Iraq | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| George H. W. BushBill ClintonGeorge W. Bush | Saddam Hussein | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 5,000[2] | Various Iraqi air defense forces | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 29 American airmen killed and 372 Coalition personnel injured in theKhobar Towers bombing 3RQ-1 Predator shot down[3] | 1MiG-25 Foxbat and 1MiG-23 Flogger shot down 10–15 air defense systems destroyed 175+ civilians killed and 500 others wounded[4] | ||||||
Operation Southern Watch was an air-centricmilitary operation conducted by theUnited States Department of Defense from August 1992 to March 2003.
United States Central Command's Joint Task Force Southwest Asia (JTF-SWA)[5] had the mission of monitoring and controlling the airspace south of the32nd Parallel (extended to the33rd Parallel in 1996) in southern and south-centralIraq during the period following the end of the 1991Persian Gulf War until the2003 invasion of Iraq.
Operation Southern Watch began on 27 August 1992 with the stated purpose of ensuring Iraqi compliance withUnited Nations Security Council Resolution 688 (UNSCR 688) of 5 April 1991, which demanded that Iraq, "immediately end this repression and express the hope in the same context that an open dialogue will take place to ensure that the human and political rights of all Iraqi citizens are respected." Nothing in the resolution spelled out theIraqi no-fly zones or Operation Southern Watch.[6]
Following the end of theGulf War in March 1991, theIraqi Air Force bombed and strafed theShi'ite Muslims in Southern Iraq during the remainder of 1991 and into 1992. The U.S. and UK deemed that Iraqi presidentSaddam Hussein was choosing not to comply with the resolution. Military forces from Saudi Arabia, the United States, the United Kingdom, and France participated in Operation Southern Watch. The commander of JTF-SWA, an aeronautically ratedUnited States Air Force (USAF)Major General, assisted by an aeronautically designatedUnited States Navy (USN)Rear Admiral, reported directly to the Commander,United States Central Command (USCENTCOM).[6]
Military engagements in Southern Watch occurred with regularity, with Coalition aircraft routinely being shot at by Iraqi air defense forces utilizingsurface-to-air missiles (SAMs) and anti-aircraft artillery (AAA), although such incidents were usually only reported in the Westernpress occasionally. An intensification was noted prior to the2003 invasion of Iraq, though it was said at the time to just be in response to increasing activity by Iraqiair-defense forces. It is now known that this increased activity occurred during an operation known asOperation Southern Focus.
At first, Iraqi forces did not attack Coalition aircraft. However, after theUnited Nations voted to maintainsanctions against Iraq, Iraqi forces began to fire on the aircraft and USAFE-3 SentryAEW&C aircraft reported an unusual amount ofIraqi Air Force activity.
On 27 December 1992, a lone IraqiMiG-25 Foxbat crossed into the no-fly zone and flew towards a flight of USAFF-15C Eagles before turning north and using its superior speed to outrun the pursuing Eagles. Later in the day, several Iraqi fighters dodged back and forth across the 32nd parallel, staying out of missile range of American fighters. However, an Iraqi MiG-25 crossed too far and was trapped inside the 32nd parallel by a flight ofUSAFF-16C Fighting Falcons of the33rd Fighter Squadron. After intelligence verified the aircraft was hostile, the fighter pilot received clearance to fire. The lead plane piloted by then-Lieutenant Colonel (later General)Gary North, USAF, fired anAIM-120 AMRAAM missile which destroyed the Iraqi fighter. This was the first combat kill by an F-16 in USAF service, and the first combat kill using the AMRAAM missile.[7] On 17 January 1993, a USAF F-16C destroyed an IraqiMiG-23 Flogger with an AMRAAM missile for the second USAF aerial victory.[8]
On 7 January 1993, Iraq agreed to American, British, and French demands to withdraw their surface-to-air missiles from below the 32nd parallel. However, they did not remove all of them, andU.S. PresidentGeorge H. W. Bush ordered U.S. aircraft to bomb the remaining missile sites.On 13 January, more than 100 American, British, and French aircraft attacked Iraqi missile sites nearNasiriyah,Samawah,Najaf, andAl-Amarah. Around half the Iraqi sites south of the 32nd parallel were hit.[9] On 29 June, a USAFF-4G Phantom II destroyed an Iraqi radar which had illuminated it, and a month later, two U.S. NavyEA-6B Prowlers firedAGM-88 HARM missiles at more Iraqi radars.[10]
The first nine months of 1994 were quiet, and the USAF began to withdraw forces from the region. In October, Saddam deployed two divisions ofIraqi Republican Guard troops to the Kuwaiti border after demanding that UN sanctions were to be lifted, precipitatingOperation Vigilant Warrior, the rushing of American troops to thePersian Gulf region. Saddam later withdrew the Iraqi Republican Guard out of the Kuwaiti border due to massive American military buildup. This served to increase Coalition resolve to enforce the no-fly zones.
On 25 June 1996,terroristsbombed the U.S. base at Khobar Towers inDhahran,Saudi Arabia which housed personnel atKing Abdulaziz Air Base supporting Operation Southern Watch. The attack killed 2 USAF officers, 17 USAF enlisted airmen, and injured an additional 372 people. This event led to a re-alignment of American forces in Saudi Arabia from Khobar Towers toPrince Sultan Air Base andEskan Village, with both installations located away from population centers.[11]
In August 1996, Iraqi forces invaded theKurdish regions of northern Iraq and American forces responded withOperation Desert Strike against targets in southern Iraq. As a result, the no-fly zone was extended north to the33rd parallel. This marked renewed conflict with Iraqi air defenses and several more radars were destroyed by F-16 fighters.[12]
On 15 December 1998, France suspended participation in the no-fly zones, arguing that they had been maintained for too long and were ineffective. On 16 December, U.S. PresidentBill Clinton ordered execution ofOperation Desert Fox, a four-day air campaign against targets all over Iraq, citing Iraq's failure to comply with UNSC Resolutions. This resulted in an increased level of combat in the no-fly zones which lasted until 2003.[13]
On 30 December 1998, IraqiSA-6 missile sites fired 6 to 8 surface-to-air missiles at American military aircraft. USAF F-16s responded by bombing the sites.
On 5 January 1999, four Iraqi MiG-25s crossed into the southern no-fly zone, sparking aerial combat with two USAF F-15 Eagles and two USNF-14 Tomcats. The American fighters fired a total of six missiles at the Iraqi aircraft, but the Iraqi aircraft were able to evade all of the missiles and escape back to the north.[13]
On 22 May 2000, it was reported that since execution of Operation Desert Fox in December 1998, there had been 470 separate incidents of AAA or surface-to-air missile fire at Coalition aircraft, while at the same time, Iraqi aircraft had violated the southern no-fly zone 150 times.[14] Over the same time period, American aircraft had attacked Iraqi targets on 73 occasions.[4]
On 16 February 2001, American and British aircraft launched attacks against six targets in southern Iraq, including command centers, radars and communications centers. Only about 40% of the targets were hit. This operation sparked scathing editorials in the foreign press, which reflected growing world skepticism about American-British policy towards Iraq.[15] Incidents of Coalition planes coming under fire, followed by retaliatory air strikes began to happen on a weekly basis.
In late 2001, a Sudanese man with links toal-Qaeda fired a man-portableSA-7 Strela missile at a USAFF-15C Eagle fighter taking off fromPrince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia. The missile missed the target and was not detected by the pilot or anyone at the base.Saudi Police found the empty launcher in the desert in May 2002, and a suspect was arrested in Sudan a month later. He led police to a cache in the desert where a second missile was buried.[16]
In June 2002, American and British forces stepped up attacks on Iraqi air defense targets all over southern Iraq. It was later revealed that this was part of a pre-planned operation calledSouthern Focus which had the goal of degrading the Iraqi air-defense system in preparation for the plannedinvasion of Iraq.
From August 1992 to early 2001, Coalition pilots had flown 153,000 sorties over southern Iraq.[4]
From 1992 to 2003, various Coalition naval assets also supportedmaritime interdiction operations in the Persian Gulf under the banners of Operation Southern Watch andOperation Northern Watch.
Until late February 2003, allUSAF,USN,USMC,RAF, andFrench Air Force aircraft rotationally based in Saudi Arabia had been "defensive" assets to defend Saudi Arabia. They carried no "offensive" air-to-ground ordnance, only air-to-air missiles, 20 mm cannon rounds, andAGM-88 HARM missiles (only by USAF F-16CJs and USN/USMC EA-6Bs) as defense against Iraqi surface-to-air missiles.
As a result, strike aircraft with "offensive" ordnance were limited to USAFA-10 Thunderbolt II,F-15E Strike Eagle,F-16C,RAFTornado GR4, and occasionallyUSMCF/A-18 Hornet orAV-8B Harrier aircraft based atAli Al Salem Air Base andAhmad al-Jaber Air Base in Kuwait, andUSN andUSMCF-14,F/A-18 andEA-6B aircraft aboard U.S. Navy aircraft carriers and USMC AV-8B aircraft aboard U.S.amphibious assault ships operating in the Persian Gulf.
In addition to USNE-2 Hawkeye airborne early warning aircraft flying from aircraft carriers and USAFE-3 AWACS andE-8 J-STARS command & control aircraft andKC-135 Stratotankerair refueling aircraft based in Saudi Arabia, additional USAFKC-10 Extender and KC-135 air refueling aircraft were also based atAl Dhafra Air Base in theUAE, while RAFVC10 K3 refuelers were based alongside USNP-3 Orion andEP-3 Aries aircraft at the U.S. Navy's Aviation Support Unit (ASU) atBahrain International Airport in Bahrain to support these strike aircraft.
On 27 February 2003, it was announced that the U.S. would be allowed to launch warplanes with offensive ordnance from its bases inside Saudi Arabia to support theIraq War – and would in turn begin a phased withdrawal from the country.[17]
On 29 April 2003,Secretary of DefenseDonald Rumsfeld announced that he would be withdrawing U.S. troops from Saudi Arabia, stating that the Iraq War no longer required the support installations within the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.Deputy Secretary of DefensePaul Wolfowitz had earlier said that the continuing U.S. presence in the kingdom was also putting American lives in danger.
All non-Royal Saudi Air Force aircraft and units at Prince Sultan Air Base (PSAB) relocated to other bases in the region, mainlyAl Udeid Air Base in Qatar andAl Dhafra Air Base in the UAE. This included theCombined Air Operations Centre (CAOC), which had relocated to PSAB from Eskan Village in September 2001, and which now resides at Al Udeid AB.[citation needed]
