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Appendix D: Aircraft Sortie Count

PDF Version [13.4MB]

APPENDIX D AIRCRAFT SORTIE COUNT

 

D-1


Timeline Chart: Total US/allied Aircraft Sorties from January 17 through March 3


Date CENTAF MARCENT NAVCENT Allied Total Flown Cum Flown
Jan 17 1381 169 415 423 2388 *
18 1529 122 233 316 2200 *
19 1275 108 178 302 1863 *
20 1223 98 175 346 1842 8323
21 1394 50 217 246 1907 10230
22 1362 149 189 282 1982 12212
23 1679 216 238 291 2424 14636
24 1741 278 455 337 2811 17447
25 1526 138 396 347 2407 19854
26 1635 266 403 368 2672 22526
27 1471 169 502 331 2473 24999
28 1670 223 452 430 2775 27774
29 1723 176 447 437 2783 30557
30 1421 262 4S4 401 2538 33397
31 1520 237 449 403 2609 36006
Feb 1 1522 238 447 398 2605 38611
2 1492 263 398 411 2564 41175
3 1689 301 379 407 2776 43951
4 1734 266 420 397 2817 46768
5 1729 234 470 472 2905 49673
6 1537 125 453 445 2560 52233
7 1543 308 405 434 2690 S4934
8 1547 275 379 475 2676 57610
9 1619 266 393 455 2733 60343
10 1600 305 430 450 2785 63128
11 1543 272 450 446 2711 65839
12 1616 247 299 459 2621 68460
13 1542 266 416 478 2702 71162
14 1468 279 396 433 2576 73738
15 1543 284 491 451 2769 76507
16 1382 271 309 416 2378 78885
17 1320 146 397 280 2143 81028
18 1718 283 475 481 2957 83985
19 1655 303 484 440 2882 86867
20 1399 164 417 405 2385 89252
21 1511 257 435 424 2627 91879
22 1614 402 445 445 2906 94785
23 1643 484 436 478 3041 97826
24 1648 436 442 536 3062 100888
25 1518 382 556 425 2881 103769
26 1673 405 664 417 3159 106928
27 1651 147 671 471 2940 109868
28 575 30 187 200 992 110860
Mar 1 592 0 167 173 932 111792
2 515 17 215 217 964 112756
3 597 4 278 168 1047 113803

D-2

Timeline Chart: Total Sorties from January 17 through March 3 of Other Support, TAC Airlift, Air Refuel, SEAD, CAS, Interdiction, DCA and OCA.


Date OCA DCA Intersiction CAS SEAD Air Refuel Tac Airlift Other Support Total Flown Cum Flown
Jan 17 518 415 531 67 0 362 85 420 2388 *
18 362 272 487 72 0 298 460 269 2200 *
19 216 266 497 43 0 264 246 231 1863 *
20 180 205 487 16 0 196 510 256 1842 8323
21 196 198 552 3 0 298 450 210 1907 10230
22 163 200 554 50 81 276 510 148 1982 12212
23 375 200 723 28 118 328 467 189 2424 14636
24 211 234 957 2 115 318 556 418 2811 17447
25 194 234 674 0 114 312 537 342 2407 19854
26 144 240 917 5 132 319 522 393 2672 22526
27 153 232 684 0 140 291 515 458 2473 24999
28 202 257 940 0 122 320 512 422 2775 27774
29 139 240 964 0 113 300 604 423 2783 30557
30 148 252 954 18 100 302 350 414 2538 33397
31 212 212 932 0 112 293 421 427 2609 36006
Feb 1 271 186 955 0 98 293 406 396 2605 38611
2 223 220 999 0 116 309 311 386 2564 41175
3 149 229 1043 0 120 288 589 358 2776 43951
4 131 226 1093 0 102 288 622 355 2817 46768
5 127 234 1161 0 115 289 559 420 2905 49673
6 141 247 1000 0 102 281 445 344 2560 52233
7 122 292 1176 0 95 325 366 314 2690 54934
8 114 266 1215 4 87 295 399 296 2676 57610
9 118 272 1201 0 92 287 434 329 2733 60343
10 122 272 1302 0 99 304 368 318 2785 63128
11 130 303 1077 130 94 310 422 245 2711 65839
12 109 262 1034 149 88 303 447 229 2621 68460
13 124 272 1056 132 100 297 454 260 2702 71162
14 140 222 994 160 79 314 387 280 2576 73738
15 184 199 1068 164 87 326 417 324 2769 76507
16 156 184 931 128 46 270 405 258 2378 78885
17 156 186 682 58 87 289 409 276 2143 81028
18 199 196 1097 146 110 338 538 333 2957 83867
19 155 188 1086 196 74 322 532 329 2882 86867
20 229 184 819 83 90 299 388 293 2385 89252
21 163 197 1024 138 87 309 366 343 2627 91879
22 160 202 1038 287 100 301 460 358 2906 94785
23 155 255 998 403 94 343 412 381 3041 97826
24 132 270 932 453 100 363 447 365 3062 100888
25 142 216 770 504 83 347 434 385 2881 103769
26 153 266 1026 477 75 390 400 372 3159 106928
27 110 303 920 361 83 364 418 381 2940 109868
28 0 228 34 31 2 208 319 170 992 110860
Mar 1 0 216 44 8 0 108 392 164 932 111792
2 6 181 39 17 0 92 376 253 964 112756
3 0 162 36 30 0 92 394 333 1047 113803

D-3

[Blank]

D-4 

Statistics of Carrier Fixed-wing Flight Operations During Desert Storm

During Operation Desert Storm (from 17 January to 28 February), the six U.S. aircraft carriers deployed to the theater flew a total of 18,117 fixed-wing aircraft sorties. Of these sorties, 16,899 were combat or direct combat-support missions. The remaining 1,218 sorties included logistics flights, functional check flights for newly arrived or repaired aircraft, or other indirect support activities.

Table 1 shows the combat and combat-support sorties flown by all the carriers according to an analysis of carrier launch and recovery logs, air plans, and steam catapult logs. The number of sorties is broken out into the eight mission categories reported in the daily Central Command situation reports. These mission categories include offensive counterair (OCA), defensive counterair (DCA), interdiction, close air support (CAS), suppression of enemy air defenses (SEAD), aerial refueling, tactical airlift, and other support, including electronic support measures (ESM), electronic countermeasures (ECM), airborne early warning (AEW) and other support activities. Figure 1 shows the daily distribution of Navy sorties by mission area. Figure 2 depicts the same data in terms of the percentage of the total sorties flown in a given mission category each day.

Because the breakdown given in table 1 does not include all Navy fixed-wing sorties, and because the definition of mission categories imperfectly reflects Navy operations, table 2 employs a different set of mission categories to obtain another view of carrier activity. This set of missions includes OCA and DCA missions as defined in table 1. The theater strike mission includes interdiction, CAS, and sorties that were capable of both SEAD and strike. Maritime strike missions include armed surface combat air patrol (SUCAP) and armed reconnaissance missions (which attacked not only ships at sea but some coastal targets as well). The SEAD/EW mission includes not only SEAD missions (those armed with HARM or other air-to-surface weapons targeted against surface air defenses) but both ESM and ECM missions as well. Combat support is equivalent to the category other support in table 1. The general support category in table 2 includes logistics and other missions. A small number of sorties could not be categorized based on the information available at the time of publication. These sorties are listed as unknown. Figures 3 and 4 show the sortie breakdown in terms of numbers and percentages in a manner similar to figures 1 and 2.

D-5

Table 1. CV fixed-wing combat and combat support sorties

  17-Jan 18-Jan 19-Jan 20-Jan 21-Jan 22-Jan 23-Jan 24-Jan 25-Jan 26-Jan 27-Jan 28-Jan 29-Jan 30-Jan 31-Jan
OCA 68 39 79 50 26 45 36 46 42 30 45 75 10 13 18
DCA 122 144 54 106 93 77 94 105 103 70 97 99 94 86 99
Interdiction 91 75 74 78 79 75 82 119 91 70 89 96 106 144 139
CAS 0 0 0 0 0   0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 13
SEAD 78 18 12 4 13 16 10 9 22 8 7 22 4 5 10
Aerial refuel 85 101 71 71 64 72 67 81 81 74 88 98 74 77 83
Tac airlift 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Other support 104 58 51 54 52 68 57 74 56 54 56 62 43 52 60
Total 548 435 341 363 327 354 346 434 395 306 382 452 331 382 422

  1-Feb 2-Feb 3-Feb 4-Feb 5-Feb 6-Feb 7-Feb 8-Feb 9-Feb 10-Feb 11-Feb 12-Feb 13-Feb 14-Feb 15-Feb
OCA 19 17 28 12 34 22 31 23 29 29 44 32 35 19 25
DCA 98 72 80 102 95 65 71 74 73 73 74 59 60 73 74
Interdiction 168 102 110 141 187 106 131 124 130 145 164 112 143 141 159
CAS 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
SEAD 1 0 3 4 6 14 7 8 6 8 8 5 17 10 4
Aerial Refuel 83 66 52 57 51 49 60 62 66 61 69 48 47 53 65
Tac Airlift 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Other support 67 54 52 60 56 57 66 62 53 58 68 78 57 59 68
Total 438 311 325 376 429 313 366 353 357 374 427 334 359 355 395

 

  16-Feb 17-Feb 18-Feb 19-Feb 20-Feb 21-Feb 22-Feb 23-Feb 24-Feb 25-Feb 26-Feb 27-Feb 28-Feb
OCA 39 17 41 29 22 28 22 34 60 40 49 36 6
DCA 52 86 84 85 91 91 90 36 72 75 80 100 86
Interdiction 105 117 193 206 180 197 152 198 196 261 311 293 98
CAS SEAD 0 5 0 9 0 7 0 8 0 4 0 0 0 12 0 0 0 0 0 12 0 6 O• 8 O O
Aerial Refuel 34 50 56 56 43 53 52 50 59 75 74 66 38
Tuc AWift 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 O O O O O O
Other support 46 48 75 76 61 72 65 66 58 61 78 74 54
Total 281 327 456 460 401 441 393 384 445 524 598 577 282

D-6


Bar Chart showing CV fixed-wing combat and combat-support sorties

Figure 1. CV fixed-wing combat and combat-support sorties

D-7


Histogram Chart showing CV fixed-wing combat and combat-support sorties, percentiles

Figure 2. CV fixed-wing combat and combat-support sorties, percentiles

D-8

Table 2. Total CV fixed-wing sorties

  17-Jan 18-Jan 19-Jan 20-Jan 21-Jan 22-Jan 23-Jan 24-Jan 25-Jan 26-Jan 27-Jan 28-Jan 29-Jan 30-Jan 31-Jan
OCA 68 39 79 50 26 45 36 46 42 30 45 75 IO I3 I8
DCA I22 I44 54 I06 93 77 94 IOS I03 70 97 99 94 86 99
Theater strike 69 67 6I 49 4I 54 49 82 56 4I 48 63 65 117 116
Maritime strike 22 I2 20 32 38 22 33 37 35 29 4I 33 4I 32 36
SEAD/EW 113 37 3I 26 35 4I 28 34 35 24 22 4I 20 23 3I
Tanking 85 IOI 71 71 64 72 67 8I 8I 74 88 98 74 77 83
Combat support 69 39 32 32 30 43 39 49 43 38 4I 43 Tl 34 39
General support 73 64 11 IO 5 I4 6 I3 I2 5 6 I8 34 26 11
Unknown 8 7 2 7 5 4 4 6 35 I4 I4 IO 6 I5 9
Total   629   506   354   380   337   372   356   453   442   325   402   480   371   423   442

 

  1-Feb 2-Feb 3-Feb 4-Feb 5-Feb 6-Feb 7-Feb 8-Feb 9-Feb 10-Feb 11-Feb 12-Feb 13-Feb 14-Feb 15-Feb
OCA I9 I7 28 I2 34 22 3I 23 29 29 44 32 35 I9 25
DCA 98 72 80 I02 95 65 71 74 73 73 74 59 60 73 74
Theater strike I36 65 8I 115 I59 82 104 91 102 127 I45 95 123 126 143
Maritime strike 34 37 3I 26 28 24 Z1 33 28 I8 I9 I7 20 I5 16
SEAD/EW 26 I7 22 26 30 39 40 32 30 34 36 28 45 37 40
Tanking 83 66 52 57 5I 49 60 62 66 6I 69 48 47   65
Combat support 42 37 33 38 32 32 33 38 29 32 40 55 29 32 32
General support 26 I2 I8 I2 17 11 11 18 15 7 58 56 18 15 32
Unknown IO 6 I3 3 12 6 9 2 2 3 9 5 9 8 15
  Total   474   329   356   39I   458   330     373   374   384   494   395   386   378   442
 
  16-Feb 17-Feb 18-Feb 19-Feb 20-Feb 21-Feb 22-Feb 23-Feb 24-Feb 25-Feb 26-Feb 27-Feb 28-Feb    
OCA 39 I7 0 29 22 w 22 34 60 40 w   6    
DCA 52 86 M 85       36 72   80   86    
Theater strike 85 87 I63 18I 154 172 126 I76 I71 244 279 27I 74    
Maritime strike 20 30 30 25 26 25 26 22 25 17 32 23 26    
SEAD/EW 26 25 45 44 32 28 4I 34 26 34 37 38 21    
Tanking 34 50 56 56 43   g 50 59   n   38    
Combat support 25 32 37 40 33 44 36 32 32 39 47 44 33    
General support IO 25 14 8 IO 15 29 19 14 22 22 16 26    
Unknown 6 2 12 3 2 9 I2 10 5 11 8 I3 3    
  Total   297   354   482   471   413   465   434   413   452   569   628   606   311    

D-9


Histogram Chart showing Total CV fixed-wing sorties

Figure 3. Total CV fixed-wing sorties

D-10


Histogram Chart showing Total CV fixed-wing sorties, percentiles

Figure 4. Total CV fixed-wing sorties, percentiles

D-11 

[Blank]

D-12

[END] 

Published: Tue Dec 13 08:13:51 EST 2016