BAGHDAD — The U.S. military has revised air tactics in Iraq after concluding the insurgency is using missiles against U.S. aircraft.
Officials said the military command has ordered helicopter pilots to
change flight tactics in wake of the shooting down of four helicopters over
the last two weeks.
They said Sunni insurgents have acquired a range of
shoulder-fired anti-aircraft weapons, including the SA-7 surface-to-air
missile.
"There's been an ongoing effort since we've been here to target our
helicopters," U.S. military spokesman Maj. Gen. William Caldwell said.
"Based on what we have seen, we're already making adjustments in our tactics
and techniques and procedures as to how we employ our helicopters."
The helicopter downings have taken place since Jan. 20 in the area
around Sunni areas of central Iraq. Caldwell said the military has not yet
determined whether insurgents were responsible for the air crashes.
"It does appear they were all the result of some kind of anti-Iraqi
ground fire that did bring those helicopters down," Caldwell said.
Officials said most of the helicopters targeted were flying low over
Sunni insurgency areas. They said defensive measures often called for
higher, faster and more varied flights.
Al Qaida has claimed responsibility for the latest crash of a U.S.
aircraft, an AH-64 Apache attack helicopter on Feb. 2. The insurgency
movement has hinted acquisition of advanced anti-aircraft missiles,
including the SA-18.
"We tell the enemies of God that the airspace of the Islamic State in
Iraq is prohibited to your aircraft just like its lands are," Al Qaida said.
"God has granted new ways for the soldiers of the state of Iraq to confront
your aircraft."
The change in air tactics come as the U.S. and Iraqi militaries prepare
to launch an offensive against insurgents in the Baghdad area. Officials
said Iraqi Lt. Gen. Abboud Gambar, a Shii'te named to lead the crackdown,
took over command on Monday.
"It's going to be an operation unlike anything this city has seen," U.S.
adviser Col. Douglass Heckman said. "It's a multiple order magnitude of
difference, a couple hundred per cent."
