Eleven of the 19 NATO member nations are currently contributing forces to
Operation Allied Force, including Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France,
Germany, Italy, The Netherlands, Norway, Spain, the United Kingdom and the
United States.
NATO countries not participating are the Czech Republic, Greece,
Hungary, Iceland, Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal and Turkey. According to the
U.S. Department of Defense, between 300 and 400 aircraft are needed to
sustain the bombing campaign, including:
AH-64 APACHE HELICOPTER
The U.S. Army is sending 24 Apaches to the Balkans to
engage Serbian ground forces.
The attack helicopters, which were used to destroy Iraqi tanks in the
Gulf
War, are armed with 16 Hellfire missiles or 76 70mm
rockets, or a combination of the two weapons, and a 30mm automatic cannon.
These blunt-nosed, flat-bellied aircraft can attack in
darkness and bad weather.
B-2 BOMBER
Flying nearly 31 hours on a round trip from the U.S., each $2 billion
low-visibility aircraft have rained down 16 high-precision bombs on a widely
scattered array of Serbian military targets.
B-52
These 40-year-old workhorses have stayed safely outside hostile airspace. From
afar, each Stratofortress has launched up to eight AGM-86C cruise missiles
packing 2,000-lb. warheads.
F-117A
The world's first Stealth warplane, the Nighthawk owned the skies during
the Gulf War and has been the deadliest warplane in the U.S. inventory. Then on March 27, the Serbs shot one down. Until
Kosovo, the F-117A had flown 1,788 attack missions without a scratch.
TOMAHAWK
Fired from ships and submarines, these satellite-guided cruise missiles and
their 1,000-lb. warheads have taken out key air-defense and command-and-control
sites. Some 334 cruise missile cells
are now carried by U.S. ships in the Mediterranean.
A-10 THUNDERBOLT
A twin-engine, one-seat plane, also known as the "Warthog" because of its ungainly appearance, the A-10 is
designed to attack troops and tanks on the ground.
Other Aircraft
Additional fighter jets in use include F-15's, F-16's, and EA-6B's.
Supporting the combatants are 10 reconnaissance aircraft, 10
search-and-rescue aircraft, three airborne command and control aircraft,
and some 40
refuelers.
Naval Forces in the Mediterranean
CRUISER USS PHILIPPINE SEA (cruise-missile capable)
>> Destroyers USS Nicholson and USS Gonzales
>> Attack submarines USS Norfolk and USS Miami
Naval Forces in the Adriatic
>> Destroyer USS Thorn (U.S.)
>> Frigate FGS Rheinland Pfalz (Germany)
>> Frigate ITS Zeffiro (Italy)
>> Frigate HNLMS Bloys Van Treslong (The Netherlands)
>> Frigate SPS Numancia (Spain)
>> Frigate HMS Iron Duke (United Kingdom)
>> Nassau Amphibious Ready Group: USS Nassau, USS Pensacola and USS
Nashville
Serbian Forces
According to the U.S. Department of Defense, enemy forces consist of the
following:
Ground Forces
114,000 active-duty soldiers and 1,400 artillery pieces.
Anti-Aircraft Forces
100 surface-to-air missiles, all threatening to NATO airpower, plus some
1,850 Yugoslav air defense artillery pieces.
Air Forces
240 combat aircraft, including MiG-21's and MiG-29's, and 48 attack
helicopters.
Mechanized Forces
1,270 tanks, including T-72's, T-74's, T-55's and M-84's; 825 armored fighting
vehicles.
A rundown of the military armor assembled for the Kosovo crisis
