Battleland

Air Force: “A Quick Symphony of Planning”

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A B-1 readies to launch from a South Dakota base for bombing runs over Libya / Air Force photo by Marc I. Lane

As the war for Libya stretches into its fifth month next week, it’s easy to question the wisdom of entering into a conflict with as many caveats on it as this one. But there’s no questioning the gee-whizzedness of the Air Force’s initial strikes carried out by five bombers from bases in the United States. While that “quick symphony of planning” may have turned into a dirge since NATO took over, John Tirpak has the details of the conflict’s first days in the July issue of the independent Air Force magazine:

Collectively, the bombers destroyed nearly 150 targets. All the aircraft returned home unscathed. The missions marked a number of organizational and operational firsts for the Air Force, especially with regard to how USAF coordinates the planning and execution of long-range strikes.