Khaberni - Hours before the launch of the Iraq invasion on March 19, 2003, American Air Force officers at the Joint Air Operations Center in Saudi Arabia were discussing the execution of an air raid on Baghdad to destroy a hideout where Saddam Hussein might be present. The information came from Iraqi sources in Baghdad working for the American CIA.
Major Clint Hinote, from the Air Force and Coalition Air Command, present at the Joint Air Operations Center, considered the mission extremely high risk, but a decision was made to proceed with its execution.
Shortly thereafter, Major Hinote made a call to Air Operation Wing 49, stationed at Al Udeid Base in Qatar, requesting the rapid deployment of two F-117A Nighthawk stealth aircraft toward specific coordinates in Baghdad. The goal was to strike Baghdad before dawn, which was just a few hours away from the specified time. The pilots and even the base wing in Qatar were not informed of the specific target of the mission; only the higher command at the Joint Air Operations Center was informed.
At that moment, pilots from the Operations Wing 49 were reviewing the planned targets, but soon received the order to move urgently to execute the mission. Within 15 minutes, officials at Al Udeid base announced they were able to execute the mission if the aircraft were prepared quickly, despite the tight timeline.
The main problem lay in the time remaining until dawn, as the F-117A would need about six hours to prepare for the mission. Additionally, the flight from Qatar to Baghdad would take over two hours. Thus, if prepared according to the usual schedule, the aircraft would have to fly over Iraq in broad daylight, exposing them to unacceptable risks.
Fortunately for them, the maintenance teams had carried out a significant amount of maintenance on the Nighthawk aircraft that day, greatly reducing the preparation time. The maintenance crew performed a quick check of the aircraft.
At around 01:30 AM, two F-117A aircraft from Wing 49 were selected for this mission. Lieutenant Colonel David Toomey and Major Mark J. Hoin were chosen to pilot the aircraft.
The greatest challenge was selecting the appropriate weapon. The mission planners wanted to use the best available ammunition, which was the EGBU-27 precision-guided bombs. However, there was a problem as these bombs had never been used in combat before.
The EGBU-27 bombs were characterized by being laser-guided with a GPS and inertial navigation system, enabling them to direct bombs to a specific target using three different methods. However, these guidance systems had arrived at the wing just 24 hours earlier.
The ground teams began immediate preparation of the two aircraft, and the EGBU bombs were loaded onto the planes. After a quick inspection, the aircraft were combat-ready by around 3:00 AM. After a brief prayer from pilots Toomey and Hoin, they boarded their aircraft.
Less than three hours after the initial call to the Joint Air Operations Center (CAOC), the aircraft took off from Al Udeid base at 03:38 AM, heading north towards the target.
However, due to the accelerated operation, some complications arose. There was no time for officials to test the aircraft’s radio devices before takeoff, and there was a communication failure in Hoin’s aircraft, forcing him to fly silently as he could not make secure communications with Al Udeid base. Additionally, there was a thunderstorm in the Arabian Gulf affecting the visual visibility of the pilots during the mission.
The Air Force had not assigned an aerial refueling aircraft to supply the Nighthawk planes with fuel, increasing the tension among the pilots. When they approached the Iraqi-Saudi border, they did not meet any coalition aerial refueling aircraft. However, shortly after, a KC-135 Stratotanker appeared. Pilot Toomey refueled his aircraft first, then turned north toward Iraq. Then it was Hoin's turn to refuel his aircraft.
During refueling, there was a conversation between the fueling expert and the KC-135 aircraft. The expert said to pilot Hoin: “It seems you have an interesting mission. Can you tell us about it?” Hoin replied: Unfortunately, I don't know more than you. All I know is that we will place bombs at certain coordinates at a specific time.
After Hoin's tank was filled, he disconnected from the tanker and continued his course toward the target in Iraq.
As the aircraft entered Iraqi airspace, they took separate courses to reach the target. The sun was beginning to rise, and although visibility was unclear due to clouds, pilot Hoin could discern the Tigris River running through Baghdad, confirming his flight over the capital.
Upon reaching the required coordinates, the aircraft decided to strike the target using EGBU-27 bombs. Despite the bombs being laser-guided, the low clouds in Baghdad would have interfered with the laser paths, so the bombs were directed via GPS.
At 05:30 AM, two F-117 aircraft dropped two EGBU-27 bombs, hitting the basement believed to be where Saddam Hussein was sleeping in one of the Dora farms south of Baghdad. The Iraqi defenses were completely surprised by the strike, as anti-aircraft gunfire only commenced after the aircraft had completed the attack.
The moment the bombs were launched, the pilots sharply changed their aircraft's courses and exited Baghdad's skies quickly.
Simultaneously, 40 Tomahawk cruise missiles were launched from the Red Sea as part of the operation targeting significant locations in Radwaniyah and Dora.
Upon their return to Al Udeid base, the air force officers did not know whether the mission had achieved its goal of eliminating Saddam Hussein. After the aircraft reached the hangar, about 100 people from the maintenance teams gathered to ensure the operation's success.
Later, it was discovered that the target was indeed the location where Saddam Hussein was residing, but the information was conflicting about his presence at the site. Some sources indicate that Saddam was at the farm but had left before the strike, while other sources say he was not at the farm at all, and the last time he visited was in 1995.
The goal was to eliminate Saddam and his entourage and slightly avoid entering the war, but the operation failed, and the American forces had to strike Iraq the following night.
