Bei Aviation Week/Ares Blog zwei interessante Artikel zum Thema "no-fly zone", beide von David A. Fulghum.
Wurde in diversen Blogs schon vorgeschlagen und es könnte tatsächlich zum ersten Kampfeinsatz der F-22 Raptor kommen, im Zusammenspiel mit F-16CJ Wild Weasels um die libysche Luftabwehr auszuschalten.
The Pentagon is generating plans for a no-fly zone over Libya—plans that could produce the first combat assignment for the F-22 Raptor stealth fighter.
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The Lockheed Martin F-22, F-16CJ Wild Weasels and some cyberoperations would be employed in shutting down Libya’s air defense system, which consists “almost exclusively” of Russian-built SA-6 surface-to-air missile (SAM)systems.
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“The Air Force has significant excess capacity for the Libya mission,” the veteran fighter pilot says. “It is the perfect scenario for the F-22 and F-16CJ Wild Weasels that are currently not engaged in Afghanistan. The Air Force’s bread-and-butter mission is to take down sophisticated, integrated air defense systems, attack air bases to render them unusable, destroy any radars that emit, and clear the skies of any aircraft in flight. After an intense, 24-48-hr. campaign, enforcing the no-fly zone is a routine operation.”
Und mit Blick auf die genannten Flugzeuge ist es offensichtlich das wohl eher die Air Force die Sache übernimmt, da entsprechende Navyeinheiten, vorallendingen Flugzeugträger, noch im Bereich Afghanistan gebunden sind.
U.S. aircraft carriers are moving to the western Mediterranean, but operations in Afghanistan may not permit them to maintain a long-term no-fly zone over Libya. That task would likely fall to the Air Force, says a senior USAF official.
“Creating and enforcing a leak-proof no-fly zone over Libya can be done without stretching U.S. forces,” the veteran fighter pilot says. “The Air Force has the capacity to do this without seriously affecting its missions in Afghanistan. There is no air superiority problem in Iraq or Afghanistan that requires more fighters and AWACS [Airborne Warning and Control Systems], than [those] already committed [to that mission].”
In diesem Fall wären natürlich italienische Luftstützpunkte die beste Option, allerdings bietet sich wohl auch Ägypten als Alternative an.
Basing could be an issue. “Obviously it would be desirable to operate from bases in Italy,” the former Air Force chief of staff says. “Italy would likely allow us to use its bases because of [its] vested commitment to [maintaining] access to Libyan oil and gas.”
A worst-case scenario, with NATO rejecting support of a no-fly zone, might have shorter-range U.S. fighters flying out of Egypt, using facilities like Cairo West where multi-national Bright Star exercises are conducted.
http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/generic/story_channel.jsp?channel=defense&id=news/awst/2011/03/07/AW_03_07_2011_p28-293410.xml&headline=F-22s%20Could%20Be%20Assigned%20To%20Libyan%20Operation&prev=10