The Marine Corps will be deploying fighter jets to Iraq, not necessarily to
drop bombs, but to take over reconnaissance and surveillance missions previously
performed by helicopters.
Commanders have no other choice, officials said, because the helicopter fleet
is overstretched.
The Corps literally is running out of helicopters. Of most concern is the Cobra
attack aircraft, noted Lt. Gen. Robert Magnus, deputy commandant for programs
and resources.
Cobras and a small number of unmanned drones have flown overhead surveillance
missions in Iraq, providing cover for ground convoys. An escalation of attacks
against convoys in recent months fueled the demand for aerial reconnaissance,
and there simply are not enough helicopters or UAVs around, Magnus told reporters.
Also complicating matters is the fact that Cobras are out of production. “We
lose one and it’s gone, I can’t replace it,” said Marine Corps
Lt. Gen. Michael Hough, deputy commandant for aviation. “Even if I had
a billion dollars I couldn’t build any more.”
Marine AV-8B Harrier and F/A-18D Hornet fighter jets are expected to head to
Iraq this fall to augment the helicopter fleet. Both these aircraft already
had been employed in reconnaissance roles in Afghanistan, in support of special
operations forces on the ground.
If the Corps gets funding approval, both aircraft will be equipped with new
targeting pods, called Litening, which have advanced infrared sensors and help
pilots see better at night.
Officials recognize that the costs of this operation will be staggering. The
hourly cost of flying the Harrier, for example, nears $7,000. But the priority
now is to “support boots on the ground,” Hough said. “We need
help to escort truck convoys up and down the road, at night, and help them avoid
being ambushed. We don’t have enough helicopters to do that.” The
25,000 Marines now in Iraq are guarding an area the size of Wyoming.
To expedite the process, Marines will modify 24 F/A-18Ds so they can use existing
Litening pods currently installed on Harriers.
The pods traditionally are used for air-to-ground targeting, to help steer
laser- and satellite-guided bombs. The Harrier pods were customized with a data
link that allows ground operators to see what the pilot sees from the cockpit.
The Corps is expected to purchase the same pods for the F/A-18D.
The Navy, meanwhile, intends to keep track of the additional costs associated
with the deployments of fixed-wing fighters, said Vice Adm. Michael D. Malone,
the top commander of U.S. naval aviation forces. “We are collecting and
reporting the costs of flying these airplanes in the desert,” he said
at a recent industry symposium. “We are identifying those costs and providing
that information to the secretary of the Navy so he understands the cost of
the war.”
The Cobra shortages in Iraq also have prompted some rethinking within the Marine
Corps about the future of attack helicopters.
“The attack helicopters have been extremely effective,” said Magnus.
“The Cobras, you’ve seen them in eastern Afghanistan, you’ve
seen them in Iraq, and yes, they get shot just like the Apaches but their availability’s
been tremendous,” he said. “We’re looking really hard at what
that means about attack helicopter inventories for the future.”