- 2 days ago
Nga Lufta ne Kosove
bombardimet e NATO ne serbi
lajmet e Shteteve Perendimore
bombardimet e NATO ne serbi
lajmet e Shteteve Perendimore
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Short filmTranscript
00:00A base spokeswoman says about 10 airmen from the 88th Air Base Wing have already been deployed to the region.
00:08The USS Nassau is one of three amphibious ready ships serving in the Kosovo conflict.
00:13Newly arrived in the Adriatic, it's on hand to provide a military boost.
00:18CNN's Rusty Dornin reports it's well equipped to aid with the refugee crisis as well.
00:22The arrival of the USS Nassau, an amphibious assault ship in the Adriatic this week, means additional firepower in terms of airstrikes.
00:32But the ship could help with a major humanitarian effort as well.
00:37The Nassau has four operating rooms, seven doctors, and 300 hospital beds.
00:42If needed, large numbers of refugees could be treated and transported.
00:46Our medical capability and the number of people we can take on board for a short period of time, we can have a real impact.
00:531,700 Marines are on board the Nassau.
00:56While many were trained as a landing force for amphibious assaults, their other mission could be disaster relief.
01:03It's an old mission for Marines.
01:04We're prepared to go in, distribute food, assist in the movement of personnel.
01:09We have a helicopter squadron embarked aboard this ship.
01:12The Nassau has a capability to carry not only a lot of humanitarian assistance, but also to move a lot of people around should that need arise.
01:19The Nassau has two dozen helicopters.
01:22The ship could be used as a transfer point.
01:24We could move people around within the ship to create some birthing spaces to make them available.
01:28But probably four or five hundred people overnight without too much trouble.
01:33And we could probably process through 2,000 people a day if we could move them on to another location.
01:38For now, the Nassau with its six carriers is a launching point for the war.
01:44It could be called upon to treat the human consequences of that conflict.
01:50Rusty Dorn and CNN aboard the USS Nassau.
01:53In Mastonia, I think what you're seeing here is those reconnaissance scimitar light-armoured vehicles loading up onto one of the new Roro ships,
02:04procured for precisely this purpose of moving British forces rapidly around the world.
02:08Airfield.
02:09A little bit special today, I'm able to show you the, or let you listen to the crew audio,
02:17which should give you a good impression of both the workload and the tension in the cockpit during the final stages of the attack.
02:23You can see clearly on the top of the picture there, the airfield,
02:26and the target this crew is going for is the hangar in the centre of the picture.
02:31Can we have the audio, please?
02:32Can we have the audio, please?
02:32Can we have the audio, please?
02:39Tension's pretty great by now.
02:46You'll see they're attacking one of two hangars there,
02:48and the other hangar is also attacked by this aircraft's wingman.
02:59Moving on now to the second attack.
03:01This is against the same airfield,
03:04and in the top left-hand corner you can just see the smoke from the previous two attacks.
03:09This crew is going against a headquarters building.
03:20That's the target he's selected, and he's locked his equipment on it now.
03:27Pave away two ÂŁ1,000 bombs being dropped against this target,
03:30two against each of them.
03:31The next four attacks are all Harrier attacks, and all using BL-755.
03:52As you know, the Harriers are launched against close air support targets,
03:56mobile and tactical targets,
03:57and if they're unable to be directed onto those,
03:59they're then cleared to release their weapons on targets such as these,
04:03their secondary targets.
04:04And this is a storage site for munitions and equipment.
04:13The Harrier pilot's using four BL-755s against this target,
04:17and you can see the impacts there.
04:18The next view is something I've not shown you before,
04:27because we have limitations on how much of this information we can record.
04:32This is from the Harriers TV tracker.
04:37This is a TV system, not a tile system.
04:40This is used for weapon aiming.
04:42Again, he's dropping BL-755s here.
04:45Unfortunately, the aircraft pulls off the target,
04:47and you can't see the impact.
04:49But this does give you a good indication of the damage to the target already.
04:52You can see, though, there's two buildings there
05:13which are close to the centre of the picture
05:15and are already severely damaged.
05:16And that's the sort of film we use for battle damage assessment
05:32against these targets.
05:36The next film, again, is a Harrier film,
05:38again with BL-755, the cluster weapon.
05:41And this is against a series of revetments along a road in Kosovo.
05:45These revetments would be used to store equipment,
05:50fuel bowsers, ammunition, and the like.
05:56And what you're actually seeing now is a tile picture,
05:59and this is from an aircraft, a further aircraft,
06:00which is standing off and taking these reconnaissance photographs.
06:04The pilots actually doing the attacking
06:06will be using the TV tracker system you've just seen.
06:09The picture rotates as the pod swivels underneath the aeroplane
06:17to keep locked onto the target area.
06:21And you see the first BL-755 attack go in,
06:24hitting the revetments and destroying the contents.
06:26Again, using BL-755.
06:39Thank you.
07:01Miles, what's happening here at the moment is it's busy.
07:06The relief effort is continuing.
07:08But you're right, the big news is the deployment
07:11of the 24 Apache attack helicopters.
07:15We've just received word from the Pentagon that is going to happen.
07:18Now, let me just pan, we'll just pan over
07:20and show you where we expect the Apaches to land.
07:23We expect the Apaches to land here.
07:26It's the Apache, the very heavy helicopter, lots of armor.
07:30So a special airfield is being prepared for them.
07:34They're expected here shortly.
07:36Now, the mission of these attack helicopters,
07:39according to NATO Supreme Allied Commander Wesley Clark,
07:42General Wesley Clark,
07:44is to take out Serbian armor, Serbian artillery and tanks.
07:48Now, the Apache, well-equipped to do that.
07:51It can carry missiles.
07:52It can carry rockets.
07:53It even has a 30-millimeter cannon.
07:57When the Apaches do get here,
07:59they'll have a huge support team.
08:01They'll have some 2,500 troops,
08:0314 Bradley fighting vehicles.
08:05They'll have other support helicopters.
08:07I'm told they're going to be Blackhawks.
08:10Miles?
08:12Overhead shots from the cameras in aircraft
08:15makes it seem a long way away.
08:17But if we were to look at a video of tests of the BL-755,
08:20it gives perhaps a better impression
08:21of exactly how these weapons work
08:24and then what it would be like if you're on the ground.
08:26The bomb splits up and 147 bomblets come out,
08:30spreading out into an oval.
08:32This is up in, I believe, Scotland,
08:34and you get a very large oval spread
08:37of munitions all over the area.
08:38This is another test run against tank targets.
08:44And that's a bit closer than we're seeing from the aircraft observing.
08:49But it's...
08:49Well, it's devastating if you're a soldier on the ground
08:51and you're in the middle of that.
08:52Yes, you would not want to be under that at all.
08:55But they have a great advantage against armoured formations
08:58or groups of vehicles is you can cover a wide area.
09:01However, if you do have a lot of refugees and military units mixed up,
09:07you're going to have a lot of problems
09:08and you could end up with some serious casualties.
09:11Indeed, I mean, the suggestion on that is that
09:13they're using refugees in some of these convoys as human shields.
09:18Missiles hit an oil refinery in Novi Sad.
09:20The Yugoslavian state news agency Tanyug
09:24said several bombs struck the Belgrade industrial area of Pancevo,
09:28where targets included a nitrogen fertiliser plant.
09:32And Serb authorities gave unconfirmed reports
09:35that a school in another Belgrade suburb was bombed,
09:38killing one child and injuring several other people.
09:42...forces.
09:43One Serbian commander virtually challenged NATO
09:46to mount a land invasion,
09:48saying there were 150,000 men under arms in Kosovo
09:52ready for war.
09:54Whether a deployment of ground troops
09:56hangs on the agreement of President Milosevic
09:58or simply the sufficient destruction of his forces
10:01is now the issue.
10:03The infrared images of two soldiers stand out clear as day.
10:07Only it isn't day.
10:08This is the latest Army night vision technology.
10:11The Army says it's a quantum improvement
10:13over the first generation devices deployed during the Gulf War.
10:16It means that we can recognize and identify targets
10:20at greater range
10:22or recognize and identify friends at much greater range.
10:26We can recognize and ID at ranges further out
10:29than the first gen systems.
10:31But even if these scout forces were detected by the enemy,
10:34it would still be outside of gun range.
10:36Two key technologies on display.
10:38Image intensifiers, also known as night vision goggles and gun sights,
10:42and FLIR, forward-looking infrared.
10:44Image intensifiers give you this green screen look
10:47you've seen so much of during the war coverage.
10:49I squared, as it's called, uses starlight and ambient light,
10:54greatly magnified.
10:56With FLIR, forward-looking infrared, heat is what counts.
11:00The hot spots show white.
11:02The purpose is to allow our soldiers to find targets,
11:05identify them as friend or foe,
11:07and then fire if necessary.
11:09This will give us more capability to, for example,
11:13avoid the fratricide that we had in the Gulf.
11:17Fratricide, the killing of one's own.
11:19Soldiers, as in the Gulf War,
11:21where 24% of the 148 U.S. combat casualties
11:24were blamed on friendly fire.
11:27Or, in the tragic example of April 14th,
11:30civilians bombed by mistake by a NATO pilot
11:32who says he thought he was striking a military convoy.
11:36The Army believes better night vision will help.
11:38Absolutely essential to have capability for them
11:41to see longer ranges than they can actually fire their weapons
11:44so that they then are in basically a commanding position.
11:47But, at a billion dollars plus,
11:50the Army's night vision wish list
11:52is a real eye-opener of a spending proposal.
11:54Rick Lockridge, CNN, Fort Aby Hill, Virginia.
11:58The base has been in operation since World War II,
12:02but is currently being used by U.S. and NATO planes
12:05for missions over Yugoslavia.
12:14At first sight, it might look like
12:16just another British airbase.
12:18But, on closer inspection,
12:20RAF Fairford is a little slice of America
12:23in the heart of the English countryside.
12:26U.S. pilots and their support staff
12:28are treated to as many of their home comforts as possible,
12:31from the food they eat, paid for in U.S. dollars,
12:34to the familiar-sounding street names
12:36where they return to their barracks.
12:39From Fairford, U.S. Air Force bombers
12:41are primed and made ready
12:42to launch airstrikes against Yugoslavia
12:44under the auspices of NATO.
12:47Since the campaign began,
12:49staffing at the base has increased
12:50from 200 to 800 personnel.
12:53There's capacity for another 600 if needed.
12:56Right now, the base is hosting
12:58the second air expeditionary group,
13:00which is made up of both B-1 and B-52 aircraft.
13:04The force is on constant standby
13:07for sorties over Yugoslavia
13:09after going into action
13:11for the first time on March 24th.
13:14Although the B-52s are now almost 40 years old,
13:17they're still an integral part of the force
13:19and have been involved
13:20since the first wave of attacks.
13:24Well, I'm joined now by the commander
13:25of the second air expeditionary group
13:27here at Fairford.
13:28When did you come over here
13:30to start beginning planning this operation?
13:32The initial operation started here,
13:34we got here February 20th,
13:35about 50 days ago.
13:36We've been here for a while.
13:37But at that point,
13:38you didn't know whether or not
13:39these NATO strikes were going to go ahead?
13:41Certainly we didn't,
13:41but we were ready within about 24 hours
13:43to start operations if we need be,
13:45but of course we were delayed for a while
13:46and didn't start flying
13:47until about 30 days later.
13:48So how many people came over with you
13:50and whereabouts have they all come from?
13:52Initially, we started with about 300 people
13:54and eight B-52s.
13:56We have since then added B-1s
13:58and about another 300 people.
13:59So we're up to about 600 people
14:01and people from all over the world.
14:02And that's the nice part.
14:03We've got a complete team here
14:05from Air Force bases all around the world,
14:07eight different major commands
14:08and come together to make a Greek team.
14:11And how do you coordinate them
14:12within a matter of hours
14:15to get up and running?
14:15I'd say it's a tough part
14:17to get everybody here
14:18and bedded down
14:18and sleeping and eating.
14:20And the communications is a big part.
14:22We have to set up communications
14:23with our headquarters
14:25and be ready to fly.
14:27How short of time?
14:29About 24 hours.
14:30Like I said,
14:30we were ready to start operations
14:32at that time.
14:33Luckily, we were able
14:34to have a little bit of time
14:35to get set up
14:36and actually do some training flights
14:37while we were here
14:38before starting flying operations,
14:39before we started flying combat.
14:41The terrain over which
14:42some of these pilots are flying
14:44is very different
14:44to what they might expect
14:46perhaps in the desert
14:47in the United States.
14:49So how do they cope with that?
14:50Hasn't weather been
14:51quite a big problem for them?
14:52It is certainly different conditions
14:53and we flew in Desert Storm
14:54and out in Southwest Asia
14:56that we're used to.
14:57But we train in all weather
14:58and all conditions
14:59and that's a great part
15:00of our bombers
15:01is that we fly
15:03in all types of weather
15:04and we have great capability
15:05with the standoff
15:06of the B-52
15:06and then the speed
15:08and the stealth
15:08of the B-1 and B-2
15:10are able to go in country
15:11and fly over targets.
15:13I assume,
15:13do you know in advance
15:14when or where
15:15the planes will be going?
15:16We start planning
15:17about 24 hours in advance
15:18and start planning
15:19for the next day's missions.
15:20So we plan all through the night
15:21and then get the airplanes
15:22ready the next day
15:23and fly missions
15:24and then continue that cycle
15:25through the next day
15:26and start loading airplanes again.
15:28And so overall,
15:29what is the biggest challenge
15:30for you?
15:31Just the getting everybody here
15:32and working in the same direction,
15:34600 people in the hall
15:35headed one direction
15:36from different places.
15:37It's been a bit of a challenge
15:39but it's great Air Force folks
15:41coming together
15:41and making a team
15:42to support the NATO alliance.
15:44Commander, thank you very much.
15:45Thank you.
15:45Well, I'm sitting in the cockpit
15:48of a B-52 bomber
15:49here at the RAF base
15:51at Fairford in Gloucestershire.
15:53This base is only
15:53one of many bases
15:55which are being used
15:55to launch NATO airstrikes
15:57against Yugoslavia.
15:58The main NATO airbase
15:59is at Aviano in Italy.
16:01There's also the USS Theodore Roosevelt,
16:04a carrier in the Adriatic Sea.
16:06CNN's Rusty Dornan
16:07has been reporting from there
16:08and gives us this look
16:10at how pilots there
16:11are coping with poor weather.
16:14Scott, a Navy F-A-18 pilot
16:17has been flying sorties
16:18off the USS Theodore Roosevelt
16:20for the last week.
16:21The Navy only wants
16:22his first name used
16:24for safety concerns.
16:25For Scott,
16:26the most frustrating part
16:27of this mission
16:28has been, in a word,
16:29weather.
16:30Bad visibility means
16:32often landing
16:32with the same bombs
16:33he took off with.
16:35You don't want to put yourself
16:36in a situation
16:36where you're dropping bombs
16:37on something
16:38that you don't know
16:38and what you're dropping on.
16:39That's been one of the key elements
16:41to this whole campaign
16:42so far,
16:42is making sure
16:43that the collateral damage
16:44is kept down to a minimum.
16:46Your line says Tomcat
16:47540 clear deck.
16:48Commander Tom Sparks
16:49is the Theodore Roosevelt's
16:50air boss.
16:51You have three of them
16:51coming back,
16:52702, 700, 700, 700.
16:53Whether it's a launch
16:54or a landing,
16:55it's his responsibility.
16:57On the deck of a carrier,
16:58planes make what's known
16:59as a controlled crash landing.
17:01When aircraft return
17:02with unfired weapons
17:03due to weather,
17:05the weapons may be de-armed,
17:07but still thousands
17:08and thousands of pounds
17:08of metal
17:09that could go crashing
17:10across the deck.
17:12When the aircraft come back
17:13with the ordnance,
17:14we're concerned about
17:15the ordnance coming off
17:16the aircraft.
17:17That's a concern.
17:17It could happen,
17:18but it's very rare
17:19that that does happen.
17:20The carrier was scheduled
17:22to go to the Gulf
17:23but was diverted
17:24to the Adriatic
17:25a little more
17:25than a week ago.
17:27The pilots thought
17:27they'd be flying
17:28over flat desert terrain.
17:31Maybe pilots train
17:32in the mountainous regions
17:33of Nevada,
17:34similar to those
17:34in Yugoslavia.
17:36But switching missions
17:37so quickly
17:38definitely changes
17:39things a bit.
17:40It really takes
17:41a little bit
17:41of extra concentration
17:42and in the brief
17:43you have to go over
17:44in detail
17:44the different target
17:45altitudes and elevations,
17:47the way the aircraft's
17:47going to perform.
17:49Perform is what pilots
17:51here would like
17:52to do a little more.
17:54It does get frustrating
17:55when you come back
17:55and you didn't get
17:56to do what you set out
17:57to do.
17:58Rusty Dornan, CNN,
17:59aboard the USS
18:00Theodore Roosevelt.
18:02...ground to have
18:04the helicopters sit on
18:05so they wouldn't
18:06sink in the mud.
18:07Today it is
18:07thunderstorms,
18:08hail, lightning,
18:09really bad weather
18:10in that area
18:11and since these
18:12helicopters will have
18:13to fly a considerable
18:14distance over water
18:15to get there
18:15it just is not safe
18:17and the sources tell me
18:18that they were not
18:19going to make that run
18:20today.
18:20It's dark over there
18:21now and they certainly
18:22won't make it tonight
18:22so the earliest
18:23they could get in there
18:24is sometime tomorrow.
18:26Now sources also say
18:27when they get there
18:28it probably will not
18:29be long before
18:30they are deployed.
18:31It is a specialty mission.
18:33What they will be doing
18:34is going after
18:35specific targets,
18:36long range targets
18:37over in Kosovo.
18:39Now we have some
18:40animation if we can
18:41show you that,
18:41exactly how that
18:42mission would work.
18:43That's an MLRS,
18:44Multiple Launch
18:44Rocket System.
18:46It fires a missile
18:46that goes out
18:47and would quell
18:48or put down
18:49the ground defenses.
18:50These are multiple
18:51rockets that it hits
18:52down on the ground.
18:53The Apache would then
18:54fly out in its mission
18:55suppressing ground fire
18:57along the way
18:58and then it would
18:59take out its target.
19:00A Hellfire missile
19:01fired at a tank
19:02exactly the role
19:03that this was designed
19:04for and as it comes
19:06back...
19:06Well this is certainly
19:07the most devastating
19:08piece of ground
19:09equipment.
19:09There are tanks,
19:10there are British,
19:10German and French
19:11tanks in Macedonia
19:12but in Albania
19:13this is a very smart
19:14piece of equipment.
19:15It has a range
19:15depending on the type
19:16of warhead and weapons
19:18used of about 200
19:19kilometers.
19:20Of course they won't
19:20always be stuck in the
19:21ditch just outside
19:22the airport.
19:23That gives you an
19:23indication of the
19:24problems there are,
19:25however, in getting
19:26heavy equipment across
19:28the mountains into
19:29Kosovo.
19:30If this is to...
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