Five American Weapons of War ISIS Should Fear

The United States has gone to war again in Iraq. This time, the president has promised that the U.S. contribution will come mainly through airpower. According to the president, “Our objective is clear: we will degrade and ultimately destroy Isil through a comprehensive and sustained counterterrorism strategy.” As many critics have noted, the objectives are less clear in practice than in rhetoric, as completely destroying a nonstate organization is nearly impossible.

What weapons will fight this war? This list looks at broad categories of capabilities, rather than at specific systems. Each of these capabilities represents a group of different aircraft, along with the logistics infrastructure associated with their use. Developing a full air campaign is a complex project, and each different kind of capability introduces new and different complications.

Drones

As with all of the other conflicts that have made up the Wars on Terror, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have played a significant role in the Obama administration’s plan to fight ISIS. Armed drones can conduct strikes on their own, but their much more important role involves the facilitation of other forms of airpower.

Drones provide U.S. commanders with key intelligence regarding the disposition and strength of ISIS forces, as well as their patterns of movement. Combined, these capabilities can constrain ISIS from operating freely, even in the territory it controls. Even the appearance of a remotely piloted aircraft can change the behavior of ISIS fighters, if they lack the ability to shoot down the drone.

Indeed, UAVs may prove effective in probing the anti-aircraft capabilities of ISIS. Reports indicate that ISIS AA artillery has already damaged a USAF F-15. If ISIS demonstrates the capability to effectively use the equipment it has captured, drones may be instrumental in determining how much fire discipline ISIS fighters can maintain.

Carrier Borne Fighter Bombers

The initial strikes against ISIS were delivered by F/A-18 Hornets, launched from USS George H.W. Bush. Since then, F/A-18s appear to have carried out the bulk of the strikes. Carrier-based fighters have proven particularly useful because they have a limited political footprint; allies have to grant overflight rights, but they tend to find this less dangerous than allowing direct access to bases. Carriers also allow the projection of airpower on relatively short notice.

F/A-18s aren’t the only carrier-based fighters involved. Marine Corps aviators,using AV-8B Harriers flown off the light carrier USS Bataan, have conducted strikes against ISIS positions near Haditha Dam. Depending on the length of the campaign, the U.S. Navy (USN) will relieve Bataan and George H.W. Bush with fresh carriers and carrier air groups. Given the amorphous nature of U.S. goals in the conflict, we can almost certainly expect to see additional carrier deployments. France could conceivably step up its contribution with the deployment of Charles De Gaulle, which flies Rafale fighter-bombers.

Land-Based Fighter Bombers

However, both the limitation of carrier aircraft and the omnipresent desire of every U.S. service to make a contribution mean that the United States is using some ground based strike aircraft in the campaign. As David Cenciotti reported, F-15E Eagles operating out of Qatar have conducted some of the strikes against ISIS. The United States may also shortly begin using airbases in Kurdistan to conduct strikes, which could improve the tempo of operations and potentially make the fighters more responsive. Because of the aforementioned political problems, the United States has struggled to keep the use of the fighter-bombers as quiet as possible.

Other countries have also dispatched fighter-bombers. French Rafales operating out of the UAE have conducted recon missions, while the bulk of the contribution of the Gulf States will likely come through ground-based fighter aircraft. The effectiveness of these aircraft will depend almost entirely on the intelligence and logistical framework established by the United States, however.