During the Gulf War, the skies were filled with intense battles between Coalition and Iraqi forces. The Coalition launched an extensive aerial campaign, releasing an astounding 88,500 tons of bombs across 100,000 sorties from January 17 to February 23, 1991. A key event took place on February 14 when two pilots in McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagles accomplished a major milestone by hitting an Iraqi helicopter in mid-air with a bomb.
An ordinary mission with extraordinary results
US Air Force Capt. Tim “Rhino” Bennett and his weapons system officer Capt. Dan “Chewy” Bakke were on the lookout for Scud missiles near Al-Qa’im when they were discovered and came under attack from Iraqi helicopters.
In an article for Air Force Magazine, Bennett recalled:
“The mission was a Scud CAP [combat air patrol] in northwestern Iraq. During the Scud CAPs, we would look around with either the FLIR targeting pod or the radar to find the mobile Scuds. My wingman had twelve Mk. 82s, and I had four GBU-10s-2,000-pound LGBs-four AIM-9s, and two external fuel tanks. I was leading the flight.”
Enemy helicopters closing in
At 1:00 AM, their operation started. Faced with thick cloud cover, Bennett and Bakke had no choice but to ascend above the poor weather conditions. Simultaneously, they received an alert from a Boeing E-3 Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) aircraft, which reported that a Special Forces team on the ground was in grave danger: five Iraqi helicopters were nearing their position.
Using radar, Bennett identified the helicopters as Mil Mi-24 Hinds, known for carrying enemy troops equipped with artillery. It seemed the Mi-24s were deploying these troops to boost an impending attack on nearby US Special Forces units.
Plan of attack
The two pilots planned to strike the lead helicopter with a GBU-10 Paveway II while it was still on the ground. If the bomb hit its mark, the target would be destroyed and, even if the helicopter took off before impact, it would still take out the troops it had just deployed.
They released the bomb from four miles away while Bennett’s F-15 sped through the sky at 700 MPH and at an altitude of 2,500 feet. At the moment of release, their radar showed the target was traveling at 100 knots and ascending. Realizing they were now too far away, Bennett and Bakke understood the bomb wouldn’t reach the helicopter.
A near miss
As seconds went by with no sign that the bomb had exploded, Bennett told Bakke to keep the laser pointed on the Mi-24. He recalled saying, “There’s no chance the bomb will get him now,” but, remarkably, the helicopter turned toward them, allowing Bakke to secure the laser-guided bomb on the target.
“There was a big flash, and I could see pieces flying in different directions,” said Bennett. “It blew the helicopter to hell, damn near vaporized it.”
Worried about friendly fire
The AWACS came over the radio and told the pilot, “I understand you visually ID’d that as an Iraqi helo.” Bennett stated that, no, he hadn’t visually identified the target, but was able to tell it was an Iraqi Mi-24 using infrared technology. Both he and Bakke then grew tense, worried they’d accidentally hit a friendly helicopter. At the time, special operators were flying into Iraq in Sikorsky MH-53 Pave Lows, and Bennett wondered if they’d accidentally targeted one.
Thankfully, the AWACS confirmed that no friendly aircraft were in the area – the pair’s attack was successful.
Striker becomes the target
That wasn’t the end of Bennett’s unbelievable mission. After confirming the hit was an enemy helicopter, large flashes appeared all around. What he initially thought were surface-to-air missiles (SAMs) being fired from below were actually bombs being dropped from above.
“AWACS had sent another flight in and told them to drop bombs on a set of coordinates. Those coordinates happened to be us!” Bennett and Bakke immediately left the area, and with just 15 minutes remaining in their mission managed to strike an enemy Scud missile, before returning to base.
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Tim Bennett left active duty following the Gulf War, but flew General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcons with the South Carolina Air National Guard until he retired in 2017, having reached the rank of lieutenant colonel.
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