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An F-111F of the 48th Tactical Fighter Wing based at Lakenheath, England and the first USAF one eleven unit to be equipped with the Pave Tack system. Supporters of the retention and enhancement of our own RAAF elevens took a considerable leap forward with the overall high performance achieved by the type during the ultra-long Libyan mission
USAF/USN Libyan Raid Analysis
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The Libyan Strike: How the Americans Did It
At 01. 00 hours on the 15th April, 1986 F-111 Fs of the 48th Tactical Fighter Wing thundered over the Libyan capital of Tripoli at 200ft in a precision strike which demonstrated both the resolve of the Reagan administration in dealing with state-sponsored terrorism and also the capabilities of a new generation of weapon systems.
The strike was not entirely unexpected, the shootout between Libyan missileers and the US Navy two weeks earlier followed by the Libyan-backed disco bombing in Berlin had set the stage for the strike, a precedent which set several additional precedents.
USAFE was alerted to the planned strike on the 11th of April, preparations were concealed within a NATO exercise called ‘Salty Nation’ which saw 16 KC-10 tankers deploy to RAF Mildenhall, with another 8 deploying to RAF Fairford with some 6 KC-135s reinforcing the existing 14 strong Mildenhall KC-135 units.
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