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American Morning
America Strikes Back: How Navy Attacks Afghanistan
Aired October 16, 2001 - 11:45 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: We are being told through sources in the military that a good deal of the strikes in Afghanistan have been carried out by Navy planes flying from two aircraft carriers, now stations, somewhere in the Arabian Sea.
Miles O'Brien is back with us once again -- a closer look at the considerable firepower of the U.S. Navy.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello again, Bill.
If you think back to the Gulf War, about ten years ago, that was primarily an Air Force air war, primarily also because the Air Force was able to forward position some of their aircraft nearby, in Saudi Arabia, for example, in order to stage attacks on Iraq. In this case, it is not quite as simple, and this has become much more of a naval air aviation air war.
Here with us to talk a little bit about this and how an aircraft carrier actually works is Gen. Don Shepperd, our military analyst.
Good to see you again Gen. Shepperd
This one is ideally suited for the Navy, even though Afghanistan is a landlocked nation, correct?
GEN. DON SHEPPERD, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Yes, we get into a lot of silly arguments about whether land-based or sea-based air power is best, which service is best. Those are part of military life. But quite frankly, this is an example of the values of a joint team that works together. What you see right now are the advantages of having a forward from the sea Navy that can float bases up close to areas where you may not have ready access from land. While the bombers come from the United States, the tactical air is coming from the Navy. It's what we have practiced for a long time, Miles, and it is paying off.
O'BRIEN: Let's take a look at how things work on the deck of one of those aircraft carriers, about four acres worth of deck there, 5,000 people. The first aircraft to launch are the Seahawk helicopters. What do they do?
SHEPPERD: The Seahawk helicopters are anti-submarine helicopters. They also are out there to rescue pilots in case somebody goes in the drink. Remember also this whole fleet is protected by submarines, Aegis cruisers and destroyers that are looking way out. So this is the first of the launches from the offensive flight deck.
O'BRIEN: It's worth reminding folks it's depicted somewhat here. There are 14 ships in all in the typical carrier battle group.
Let's go to that next image, which is giving the entire air wing some sense of protection from the sky and direction, if you will. This is the E-26 AWACS aircraft, "AWACS" meaning it has that big sort of radar drum on top there. That gives the attack aircraft some good guidance on where the bad guys are, right?
SHEPPERD: That's right. It extends the range well beyond the surface ships that are able to look out so far, but the E-2 Hawkeye can get out there even further and extend the radar picture to look for both air and surface threats. Then the ships all have anti- surface and anti-submarine capabilities as well.
O'BRIEN: Range is a big issue. In this case, we are talking about at least a 500, 600, maybe 700 mile one-way trip and back. That is right at the edge of the envelope for some of these fighter aircraft, so refueling is an important thing. One of the aircraft involved in that is the S-3. Let's take a look at that one. The S-3 is really a multipurpose mission, but one of them is aerial refueling, correct?
SHEPPERD: That's right. It will launch off the tanker and the aircraft may top off on the tanker before they go to the target. They may also hit Air Force targets en route, another example of the joint team out there.
Then the S-3 tanker is also available when the planes come back, in case there is a foul deck or something delays landing. They can top off on the tanker before they have to land.
O'BRIEN: Radar jamming -- that's another important one in the aircraft off the deck, typically. And we are giving people a typical scenario here; we're not saying this is exactly how it happens. But this particular aircraft has an important role it play in radar jamming. Let's take a look at it as it launches off the carrier there.
SHEPPERD: That's right. Incidentally, the EA-6s are only airborne tactical jammers now and are flown by joint Navy and Air Force crews, another example of how we have worked together in the last few years. This is an awesome airplane designed to jam early warning and missile radar so the strike aircraft that we will show next can get to their targets.
O'BRIEN: So you have got search-and-rescue. You've got the capabilities for refueling. You've got aircraft in the air protecting the carrier battle group. We didn't show the F-14s launching, but that would also occur. And have you have got radar jamming. Now it's finally time to send some bombs on target. That involved F-18s and F- 14s, correct?
SHEPPERD: That's right. You launch the strikers. The F-14 used to be only air defense; it's also been modified with reconnaissance capability and precision-guided munitions. This is an awesome, awesome Navy.
Again, I want to stress we have awesome services in all the services. We haven't seen the Army and Marines yet, but they are also awesome. It's the joint team we've paid for in practices as American citizens for a long time now. It is paying off in this operation.
O'BRIEN: As we see, the F-14 Tomcats go off on their way to Afghanistan and points beyond.
We thank Gen. Don Shepperd, as always, for his insights on military operations and how they work.
We invite you the viewers to check more about this at cnn.com. There you have the F-14 Tomcat. A little more depth and context for you, a little more information about what's going on in the region. We invite you to check that out any time when you don't have an opportunity to listen to the good counsel of Gen. Shepperd.
We will send it back now to Bill Hemmer.
HEMMER: You got it. The very good counsel of the general. Miles, thank you.
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