Monday, May 09, 2011

I Don't Get This At All

This news from the Libya War is bizarre:

Jets screamed in low over Tripoli early on Tuesday, carrying out a series of strikes in quick succession, after witnesses reported two others near state media offices a few hours before.

Jets carried out eight strikes in roughly three hours in an unusually heavy bombardment of Tripoli, which is usually hit by at most two or three strikes at a time.

Why were NATO planes screaming in low over Tripoli? Fast movers don't identify friends from foes by flying low. Nor are precision weapons enhanced by flying low.

So why fly low and risk being hit by simple anti-aircraft fire (including machine gun and even rifle fire)?

The only reason to fly low that I can see is to deliver dumb bombs more accurately. But the article doesn't say. Have the British and French run so low on precision weapons that they need to fly low to drop dumb bombs with reasonable accuracy?

Like I said, I just don't get this at all.