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The Conflict Part I- The Air Strikes After several months of threats
to carry out airstrikes against Serbia, NATO finally commenced them at 1900 GMT
on March 24, 1999 and the United Kingdom played a vital role in it. The name of
the campaign was Operation "Allied Force." This was the first time
that NATO had struck a sovereign European nation in The United Kingdom committed the following aircraft to the Kosovo Conflict:
*-This was the RAF's largest helicopter support deployment since Operation Granby (Operation Desert Storm.) On Day 2 (March 25), the RAF fighters led the
second NATO attack of the campaign. The six Harriers targeted a Serb ammunition
storage in Leskovic. The ammunition store contained anti-aircraft weapons and it
was located within a Serb army barracks, which was home to an infantry unit and
an anti-aircraft unit. Only two out of the three targets were destroyed due to a
technical problem with one of the Harriers. Like the first night of strikes, all
of the aircraft returned safely to their base in Gioia del Colle, Italy. A German Tornado takes off from Italy. The Kosovo Conflict marked the first time that the German Luftwaffe had struck European soil in anger since the Second World War.
March 26 (Day 3)- 8 RAF Harriers once again took lead in the NATO airstrikes. Unfortunately, cloud cover and other poor weather conditions led to all NATO fighters and bombers to turn back without releasing their bombs. All planes returned safely. That same day, 2 Serbian MiG-29s were shot down over Bosnia. March 27 (Day 4)- Once again, bad weather prevented NATO from flying any sorties. However, attacks were carried out by cruise missiles. 8 Tornado GR1s in RAF Bruggen (Germany) were placed on stand by and they would later end up joining the conflict. Also, the first loss of the campaign occurred on Day 4 when an American F-117 Stealth crashed near Belgrade for unknown reasons. The Serbs claimed that they had shot it down, yet the United States Air Force claimed it was because of technical problems. The pilot was rescued and flown to safety. March 28 (Day 5)- Four Harriers destroyed an ammunition dump that was used to supply the Serbian Interior Ministry Police. Six Paveways IIs were released by the fighters and only five hit the target. The sixth hit near the target on open killing no one. The fourth Harrier involved in the attack was illuminated by a Serb anti-aircraft system and was forced to jettison its bombs. Additional Harriers from RAF Wittering arrived in Gioia del Colle to add the RAF's force. March 29- April 3 (Days 6-10)- Bad weather once again prevented the RAF
from flying any sorties over Serbia and Kosovo. On March 31, the Chief of
the Defence Staff General Sir Charles Guthrie said that a C-130 was going to
leave from RAF Lyneham and deliver the first load of British humanitarian
supplies to the area of conflict; it arrived on April 1st. With it came 200
tents and 2,500 blankets for the refugees. Air and sea-launched cruise missile
operations did continue to be carried out during this time. April 4 (Day 11)- Now that the weather had finally cleared up, the Harriers and Tornados finally got to operate. The Harriers searched for Serb targets in Western Kosovo while the Tornados from Germany struck bridges and tunnels. The Harriers did not engage anything, yet the Tornados had a successful mission. This reduced the Serbs' ability from moblising their forces quickly.
April 8 (Day 15)- 10 Harriers were sent out during daylight on a "seek and destroy" mission. They successfully engaged Serb targets on the ground and destroyed them using cluster bombs. Later that day, the Secretary of State for Defence Right Honourable George Robertson, MP, visited the RAF base in Bruggen, Germany. April 9 (Day 16)- Two sets of targets were engaged by four Harriers. The first was a military vehicle compound in Southern Kosovo and the other was against a column of parked military vehicles on the road. The attacks were made using cluster bombs and were successful. By this time during the conflict, it was said in a briefing that 50% of the Yugoslavian Air Force's MiG-29s had been destroyed, all airfields had been damaged, and access to fuel had been reduced by half due to NATO's strikes on fuel storage sites and refineries. April 11 (Day 18)- After a day of poor weather, the Harriers and Tornados flew a series of daylight and night sorties. The daylight mission saw six aircraft involved in destroying a military storage area. Other NATO nations took part in this attack with support aircraft from Germany, the United States, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Italy. The attack was deemed successful. The night attacks by the Harriers, however, were not quite as successful. The Harriers were ordered to turn back due to an error in calculating the amount of damage the strike would bring the target. April 12 (Day 19)- A total of 16 Harrier mission were flown. The attacks concentrated mainly on Serb army and special police forces within Kosovo. One formation was forced to abort its attack when a target of vehicles was cloud covered, disabling the pilots from determining if they were military vehicles or refugees. The attacks during the night were against a fuel storage facility. All aircraft returned home safely. April 13 (Day 20)- NATO flew its highest number of missions yesterday against Serb armed forces. During the day attacks, 10 Harriers mobile Serb units with 20 1,000lb. bombs. Later, 6 Tornados from Bruggen attacked Obrva airfield and an ammunition storage near Kragujevac in Central Serbia. The mission was a success. All aircraft returned home safely. April 15 (Day 22)- The Harriers flew their highest number of sorties in a
single day - 18. They all concentrated on command and control facilities in
Pristina, artillery, and anti-aircraft sites. All aircraft returned safely. April 19-22 (Days 26-29)- Poor weather prevented the RAF and all other NATO nations from flying any missions. However, NATO attacked over 30 targets across Kosovo and Serbia. These attacks included bridges, roads, military radio relay sites, fuel storage facilities, and ammunition storage sites. Also, Sea Harriers from HMS Invincible flew Combat Air Patrols. April 23 (Day 30)- Despite the weather, the RAF began more attacks on Serbia. Supported by the Early Warning Systems of the E-3Ds, the Harriers attacked a military command post using cluster bombs. The Tornados, however, could not fly due to poor weather. Some Harriers were forces to turn back due to the weather as well. April 24 (Day 31)- This was the busiest day so far for the Harriers. The flew 20 sorties and attacked a variety of targets including a road bridge, an Army Command Post, a dug-in artillery position, and military installations on an airfield. Over 600 sorties were flown on April 24 by NATO nations and they struck at fuel sites at Novi Sad and Lopatnica. Airfields were also hit in Nis and Sjkenica. In total, over 200 sites across Serbia were attacked up to this point. All aircraft returned safely. April 26 (Day 33)- The third and last bridge over the Danube River was destroyed in Novi Sad. RAF planes did not take part in the sortie. All NATO aircraft returned home safely. April 30 (Day 37)- NATO continued its strikes on Belgrade as it attacked the main TV transmitter, the headquarters of the Yugoslav Army, the Federal Interior Ministry, a police building and an ammunition storage site. RAF Harriers flew 10 sorties and attacked a barracks and a military vehicle compound using Cluster bombs. 6 Tornados attacked an ammunition plant in Serbia. George Robertson also announced that 4 additional RAF Harriers would join the other Harriers at Gioia del Colle, increasing the number to 16.
May 22 (Day 52)- The largest amount of NATO sorties were flown in one day- 700. The large list of targets attacked included 12 tanks, 11 armoured vehicles, 9 artillery positions, electricity transmission system, petroleum storage facilities, power transformer yards, barracks, highway bridges and television and radio relay sites. In these attacks, the Harriers flew 17 and the Tornados flew 6. Their targets included an engineering depot and other military installations in Kosovo. June 11-14 (Operation Joint Guard)- The NATO air campaign was officially suspended after the signing of the Military Technical Agreement. The fighter aircraft, however, remain on stand by should they be required to go back into action. Other aircraft such as the Hercules transport, continue to fly in British armed forces personnel. June 22- The Harriers and Tornados returned to their home bases at Wittering and Bruggen. 10 Harriers returned home, leaving 6 still in theatre at Gioia del Colle to support NATO ground forces if required. All six Tornado GR1s at Solenzara on the island of Corsica returned to their base.
In total, the British Royal Air Force flew 1,618 sorties. Out of that 1,008 were strike sorties, 102 were combat air patrols, 184 were Airborne Early Warning flights, 324 were air-to-air refueling missions. Also, a total of 1,011 air munitions were released.
"Mission accomplished." |
anger.
The first attack began with air and sea-launched cruise missiles on Serbia. Then
came waves of NATO aircraft, including the B-2 Stealth bomber, focusing mainly
on military targets within Kosovo and Serbia. These targets included army
barracks, Serb police stations, power stations, and Serb air defences. The RAF
sent six of its Harriers up and they destroyed an ammunition storage facility.
In Montenegro (which with Serbia forms
Kingdom's best interests to not let this happen and "we have a duty to see
that justice The Harrier GR7 proved
very effective in the air campaign as it did in Iraq. Its weapon systems include
the Mk 82 & Mk 83 bombs, clusters, Maverick ASMs, and rocket pods. The
pilots that were in Kosovo flew the latest version of the plane which has in it
the latest night vision equipment making it much more better at night. Its
firepower is also known to have an 80% accuracy rate. NATO's "eyes
in the sky" was also enhanced with the RAF's Sentry AEW1s making the
Airborne Early Warning System much better. Three Tristar and VC10K Tankers also
added to the contingent and provided vital mid-air refueling for the RAF
fighters. Yet many points were raised before and during the air campaign. One of
them was the fact that the terrain in Serbia and Kosovo was not like that of
Iraq where many of the units had come from. The terrain in the Balkans were
hilly with enough foliage to hide anti-aircraft weapons, and should a ground war
be necessary, the terrain would prove very difficult for tanks. 
April
5 (Day 12)- Four separate missions were carried out by the Tornados and
Harriers. The Harriers conducted the first two during daylight over Southern
Kosovo. No Serb targets were engaged. That night, the Tornados joined the
Harriers and attacked a fuel station near Pristina (Kosovo's capital.) It was
believed that the site was used to house surface-to-air missiles (SAMs.) The
target was heavily damaged and all aircraft returned home safely. 
May
3 (Day 40)- Although the weather was poor, NATO continued its intensive air
campaign against Serbia. Almost every type of target in Kosovo was engaged.
These included ammunition dumps, barracks, tanks and other vehicles, artillery,
and radio relay stations. The Harriers were heavily involved in this attack.
They attacked several special police sites as well as fuel storage sites using
Cluster bombs. All of the aircraft involved returned home safely. 