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U.S. Air Force Chief of Staff General Norton Schwartz said Wednesday that Washington has prepared military options to strike Iran's nuclear sites should conflict erupt, Bloomberg reported.
Originally posted by CALGARIAN
This is less than 0.01% of the actual "plan" I'm sure. US has a contingency plan to deal with every country on the plan in case of war, even their own. The US ACC's in the Persian gulf are part of the "plan" as well.
Originally posted by DaTroof
That being said, why would Israeli planes need to refuel unless they were barred from Iraqi airspace.?
It would be a formidable air campaign, but it could be accomplished,'' Deptula said. And it would take the United States to do it. "The Israelis have one of the most excellent, innovative air forces in the world -- that's not at issue,'' he said. But with the distances to be covered to reach Iran and the limited number of refueling tankers that Israel can provide, "there is a capacity issue.
Originally posted by moderateAmerican
The Saudi's are already in a proxy war with Iran. As long as the public doesn'e know about it I would assume that there are some bases ready to refuel Isreali jets.
Originally posted by Gorsebeacon
There are so many people that are against going to war with Iran on this site. Let's say we go to war. Are you going to be rooting for Iran? Why don't you move there then? We don't want you here.
Air Force Chief of Staff General Norton Schwartz told reporters the Joint Chiefs of Staff have prepared military options to strike Iranian nuclear sites in the event of a conflict.
“What we can do, you wouldn’t want to be in the area,” Schwartz told reporters in Washington yesterday.
Pentagon officials said military options being prepared start with providing aerial refueling for Israeli planes and include attacking the pillars of the clerical regime, including the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and its elite Qods Force, regular Iranian military bases and the Ministry of Intelligence and Security. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because Pentagon plans are classified.
“There’s no group in America more determined to prevent Iran from achieving a nuclear weapon than the Joint Chiefs of Staff,” Joint Chiefs Chairman Army General Martin Dempsey told the House Budget Committee yesterday. “I can assure you of that.”
Originally posted by SrWingCommander
Approximately 25 of the IDFs F-15s are the "I" model (israeli model) with conformal fuel cells. And about 100 of the F-16's are "i"'s also with conformal fuel cells. I can't find a listed range on these, but I think they can make the trip to Iran (if they cross Iraq/Saudi) without refueling, with the conformal cells (might need a drop tank or two as well,) but if they use JADM or something similar, I don't think they need a big loadout.
en.wikipedia.org...
They have several hundred earlier model F16's and F15s, but they would need to tank several times, they would likely be kept home to cover Isreali airspace.
That's assuming they don't or haven't secretly secured airfields elswhere. While it would be crazy, I think there had been mention in the news sometime back that Saudi might actually allow not only overflights, but basing for IDF planes. I doubt it, but the Saudi's dislike Iran almost as much as Isreal.
The planes cannot land or take off from a US Carrier as someone mentioned. The F15 and F16 are not built or designed for carrier operations and it is unlikely they could be converted either. A catapult shot would likely pull the nose clear off of an F16, and neither planes landing gear/undercarriage/fuselage can endure the shock from a carrier landing.
It would be tough without US support (especially tankers) but it could be done.