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U.S. Navy P-3 Orion Surveillance Planes Flying Missions Over Persian Gulf

Aired October 29, 2002 - 13:39   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.


MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN ANCHOR: U.S. Navy P-3 Orion surveillance planes have been flying missions over the Persian Gulf since the war of 1991. They're keeping an eye on Saddam Hussein, and those who do business with him, watching for signs that the U.N. resolutions are being violated.
CNN's Kyra Phillips rode with a P-3 squadron, and here is her exclusive report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Their call sign is Screaming Eagles, but their mission is that of a silent warrior, eyes in the sky that quietly track high threat operations.

We're airborne with the U.S. Navy P-3 squadron as it flies over the Persian Gulf, a seven-hour reconnaissance mission in support of "Operation Southern Watch." This crew is monitoring activity in and around Iraq.

Right now, this has become the most intense hour for this crew. They've across about 50 target areas that they have to surveil looking for any type of suspicious activity. Now every one of these missions is about making sure that Saddam Hussein is complying with U.N. resolutions.

LT. J.G. JOY ZELINSKI, U.S. NAVY: Look for oil smugglers, potential oil smugglers, that are bringing in oil that's not under U.N. sanctions for humanitarian assistance for food and medicine, that they're using the money to channel toward other means of developing their military, or possibly even funding terrorism.

PHILLIPS: Lieutenant J.G. Joy Zelinski is the intel officer on this operation. She's examining her detection sensors, and electro- optical cameras. This crew is capturing classified pictures, documenting where good and bad guys are at all times.

ZELINSKI: The decisions that we make and the information that we give is time critical. The operations that we support, the ground forces, the smuggling activity in the northern Arabian Gulf, is all an important part to build a picture.

PHILLIPS: We can't show you what this squadron is looking at, but we can tell you their realtime black and white images of ships, waterways, people, land and weapons, on the ground, and in the sea below, a tremendous task for such a young crew. ZELINSKI: It's pretty overwhelming. The crew is all 20- something years old. We're all very young, yet we play such a vital role in providing information to our national levels in order to fight the war.

PHILLIPS: This air crew can also carry out combat surveillance, detecting submarines that could threaten a carrier. From high altitudes they can locate missile sites and protect troops on the ground if called to do so.

This airborne Hunter can even drop bombs.

LT. J.G. TREY PRIM, U.S. NAVY: We've become a much more valuable asset to ground forces if we are available to suppress a threat that could interfere with ground forces.

PHILLIPS: The P-3 traces its lineage to World War II. It's known for hunting and killing subs. But now this old plane has a new mission, a global war on terrorism.

For Joy, Zelinski a 26-year-old from a small town in Ohio, it's a huge responsibility, but she and her squadron are not intimidated.

ZELINSKI: When they know that we're flying, they know that we're imaging, they know that we're watching, they're less inclined to take actions that would maybe contribute to some sort of terrorist activity.

PHILLIPS: Flying over the Persian Gulf, Kyra Phillips, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SAVIDGE: And Kyra Phillips joins us now live via videophone from the the Persian Gulf region, still with the P-3 squadron there, I see.

Kyra, good to see you.

Tell us about the surveillance mission. I know they do more than just -- they do more an just surveillance work, don't they, Kyra? There are other roles for the P-3. What are they?

PHILLIPS: Absolutely. We're here live actually in the cockpit of the P-3. This is the aircraft that we took as we flew through the desert theater in support of "Operation Southern Watch."

Now, Marty, you'll remember this, because you covered the story when you were in Kuwait, remember "Operation Eager Mace," when the terrorist activity took place outside of Kuwait, a Marine was killed, another one was wounds, and indeed, it was confirmed that it was terrorist activity, well this was the squadron that was told to immediately fly to Kuwait to take surveillance pictures to try and capture any type of other terrorist activity and to try to prevent another such ambush.

Now, this squadron continues also to support "Operation Enduring Freedom" in Afghanistan, looking for Al Qaeda and Taliban every day, all through the day, and through the night. And if, indeed, a war does take place against Iraq, Marty, this squadron is ready to go.

SAVIDGE: Very interesting to know they were in the sky over Kuwait there.

Another question, is the U.S. doing the surveillance alone, or are there coalition partners from other nations assisting?

PHILLIPS: Oh, it's definitely a coalition operation, Marty. Canada, Spain, the Dutch, the French, the German, the British, and the Aussies are all supporting the oil interdiction and the maritime patrols. With regard to a possible war against Iraq, well, if, indeed, that happens, it's yet to be determined what countries will participate in that mission also -- Marty.

SAVIDGE: This seems like a real role reversal, me standing on the set and you out there. But it's good to see you, Kyra. We'll be back in touch with you for more reports. Thank you.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com




Over Persian Gulf>


Aired October 29, 2002 - 13:39   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN ANCHOR: U.S. Navy P-3 Orion surveillance planes have been flying missions over the Persian Gulf since the war of 1991. They're keeping an eye on Saddam Hussein, and those who do business with him, watching for signs that the U.N. resolutions are being violated.
CNN's Kyra Phillips rode with a P-3 squadron, and here is her exclusive report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Their call sign is Screaming Eagles, but their mission is that of a silent warrior, eyes in the sky that quietly track high threat operations.

We're airborne with the U.S. Navy P-3 squadron as it flies over the Persian Gulf, a seven-hour reconnaissance mission in support of "Operation Southern Watch." This crew is monitoring activity in and around Iraq.

Right now, this has become the most intense hour for this crew. They've across about 50 target areas that they have to surveil looking for any type of suspicious activity. Now every one of these missions is about making sure that Saddam Hussein is complying with U.N. resolutions.

LT. J.G. JOY ZELINSKI, U.S. NAVY: Look for oil smugglers, potential oil smugglers, that are bringing in oil that's not under U.N. sanctions for humanitarian assistance for food and medicine, that they're using the money to channel toward other means of developing their military, or possibly even funding terrorism.

PHILLIPS: Lieutenant J.G. Joy Zelinski is the intel officer on this operation. She's examining her detection sensors, and electro- optical cameras. This crew is capturing classified pictures, documenting where good and bad guys are at all times.

ZELINSKI: The decisions that we make and the information that we give is time critical. The operations that we support, the ground forces, the smuggling activity in the northern Arabian Gulf, is all an important part to build a picture.

PHILLIPS: We can't show you what this squadron is looking at, but we can tell you their realtime black and white images of ships, waterways, people, land and weapons, on the ground, and in the sea below, a tremendous task for such a young crew. ZELINSKI: It's pretty overwhelming. The crew is all 20- something years old. We're all very young, yet we play such a vital role in providing information to our national levels in order to fight the war.

PHILLIPS: This air crew can also carry out combat surveillance, detecting submarines that could threaten a carrier. From high altitudes they can locate missile sites and protect troops on the ground if called to do so.

This airborne Hunter can even drop bombs.

LT. J.G. TREY PRIM, U.S. NAVY: We've become a much more valuable asset to ground forces if we are available to suppress a threat that could interfere with ground forces.

PHILLIPS: The P-3 traces its lineage to World War II. It's known for hunting and killing subs. But now this old plane has a new mission, a global war on terrorism.

For Joy, Zelinski a 26-year-old from a small town in Ohio, it's a huge responsibility, but she and her squadron are not intimidated.

ZELINSKI: When they know that we're flying, they know that we're imaging, they know that we're watching, they're less inclined to take actions that would maybe contribute to some sort of terrorist activity.

PHILLIPS: Flying over the Persian Gulf, Kyra Phillips, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SAVIDGE: And Kyra Phillips joins us now live via videophone from the the Persian Gulf region, still with the P-3 squadron there, I see.

Kyra, good to see you.

Tell us about the surveillance mission. I know they do more than just -- they do more an just surveillance work, don't they, Kyra? There are other roles for the P-3. What are they?

PHILLIPS: Absolutely. We're here live actually in the cockpit of the P-3. This is the aircraft that we took as we flew through the desert theater in support of "Operation Southern Watch."

Now, Marty, you'll remember this, because you covered the story when you were in Kuwait, remember "Operation Eager Mace," when the terrorist activity took place outside of Kuwait, a Marine was killed, another one was wounds, and indeed, it was confirmed that it was terrorist activity, well this was the squadron that was told to immediately fly to Kuwait to take surveillance pictures to try and capture any type of other terrorist activity and to try to prevent another such ambush.

Now, this squadron continues also to support "Operation Enduring Freedom" in Afghanistan, looking for Al Qaeda and Taliban every day, all through the day, and through the night. And if, indeed, a war does take place against Iraq, Marty, this squadron is ready to go.

SAVIDGE: Very interesting to know they were in the sky over Kuwait there.

Another question, is the U.S. doing the surveillance alone, or are there coalition partners from other nations assisting?

PHILLIPS: Oh, it's definitely a coalition operation, Marty. Canada, Spain, the Dutch, the French, the German, the British, and the Aussies are all supporting the oil interdiction and the maritime patrols. With regard to a possible war against Iraq, well, if, indeed, that happens, it's yet to be determined what countries will participate in that mission also -- Marty.

SAVIDGE: This seems like a real role reversal, me standing on the set and you out there. But it's good to see you, Kyra. We'll be back in touch with you for more reports. Thank you.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com




Over Persian Gulf>