We chase squalls for their wind and for their water. The two mantle phases at the transition zone between Earth’s upper and lower mantle, wadsleyite and ringwoodite, could potentially incorporate up to a few weight percent of water into their crystal structure. At home, she uses Brita’s Standard Everyday water filter pitcher, which removes 99 percent of lead and is certified to reduce chlorine, asbestos, mercury, benzene, cadmium, and more. The darker your urine, the more water you need to drink, especially if weight loss is your goal. Of the Allied powers that fought in the Second World War, the Soviet Union used specifically designed ground attack aircraft more than the UK and US. Various aircraft can fill close air support roles. During Operation Enduring Freedom, the lack of fighter aircraft forced military planners to rely heavily on US bombers, particularly the B-1B Lancer, to fill the CAS role. Fighters and ground attack aircraft like the A-10 Thunderbolt II provide close air support using rockets, missiles, bombs, and strafing runs. Cannons had to be mounted differently for strafing – strafing required a further and lower convergence point than aerial combat did. The issue would eventually be put to rest, however, as the helicopter gunship proved crucial in the combat environment of Vietnam.

Though helicopters were initially armed merely as defensive measures to support the landing and extraction of troops, their value in this role led to the modification of early helicopters as dedicated gunship platforms. The USAF developed several other platforms following on from the AC-47, including the Fairchild AC-119 and the Lockheed AC-130. The AC-130 has had a particularly lengthy service, being used extensively during the War in Afghanistan, the Iraq War and the US military intervention in Libya during the early twenty-first century. Multiple variants of the AC-130 have been developed and it has continued to be modernised, including the adoption of various new armaments. Some variants of the Stuka were equipped with a pair of 37 mm (1.5 in) Bordkanone BK 3,7 cannons mounted in under-wing gun pods, each loaded with two six-round magazines of armour-piercing tungsten carbide-cored ammunition, for anti-tank operations. FACs were first employed in the Mediterranean by the British Desert Air Force in North Africa but not by the AAF until operations in Salerno. Air Force. Archived from the original on August 31, 2019. Retrieved September 12, 2020 – via Rutgers University. Archived (PDF) from the original on June 4, 2011. The use of forward air controllers (FAC) was another innovative technique employed during Operation Avalanche.

Archived from the original on August 25, 2013. fundamental feature of the system was use of waves of strike aircraft, with pre-briefed assigned targets but required to orbit near the line of battle for 20 minutes, subject to Rover preemption and use against fleeting targets of higher priority or urgency. Since their 1977 introduction into modern military practice for close air support purposes, General Crosbie E. Saint provided the AH-64 Apache the doctrinal cover for use in AirLand Battle operations such as in the NATO European theatre. Usually close support is thought to be only carried out by fighter-bombers or dedicated ground-attack aircraft, such as the A-10 Thunderbolt II (Warthog) or Su-25 (Frogfoot) or attack helicopters such as the AH-64 Apache, but even large high-altitude bombers have successfully filled close support roles using precision-guided munitions. The Soviet military also frequently deployed the Polikarpov Po-2 biplane as a ground attack aircraft. This resulted in a great number of CAS operations being undertaken by aircraft from Belgium (F-16 Fighting Falcon), Denmark (F-16), France (Mirage 2000D), the Netherlands (F-16), Norway (F-16), the United Kingdom (Harrier GR7s, GR9s and Tornado GR4s) and the United States (A-10, F-16, AV-8B Harrier II, F-15E Strike Eagle, F/A-18 Hornet, F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, UH-1Y Venom).

The latter made them a natural complement to ground forces in the CAS role. Air platforms communicating with ground forces can also provide additional aerial-to-ground visual search, ground-convoy escort, and enhancement of command and control (C2), assets which can be particularly important for low intensity conflict. CAS platforms. Fighters were usually optimized for high-altitude operations without bombs or other external ordnance – flying at low level with bombs quickly expended fuel. The 2003 joint CAS doctrine reflects the increased use of electronic and optical technology to direct targeted fires for CAS. The use of information technology to direct and coordinate precision air support has increased the importance of intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance in using CAS. The earlier debate over control over CAS assets was reiterated between ground commanders and aviators. Nevertheless, the US Army incrementally gained increased control over its CAS role. Presently, the ALO mainly serves in the liaison role, the intricate details of mission planning and attack guidance left to the enlisted members of the Tactical Air Control Party. During wargames, field commanders tended to hold back attack helicopters out of fear of air defenses, committing them too late to effectively support ground units.