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Pastimes : Kosovo -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Stormweaver who wrote (5207)	4/23/1999 2:53:00 PM
From: Douglas V. Fant	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 17770

James, More data on Kosovo- Russia is unlikely to send ground troops- maybe quality weaponry however as a signal of displeasure with NATO's activities in and around Russia..... Remebr that the USSR and Yugoslavia were not the closest of buddies during the Cold War.... Special forces involvement confirmed As NATO pilots experience difficulties in attacking mobile Serb forces, the role of special forces becomes more important. Although NATO and US officials will not discuss special forces missions in Operation 'Allied Force', the US Special Operations Command (SOCOM) has confirmed that its units are participating in the operation. "We have forces deployed in the Balkans," said SOCOM spokesman George Grimes on 14 April. Special forces from France, the UK and the USA, and possibly from other NATO countries, are likely deployed to help NATO pilots select targets and direct laser-guided bombs (LGBs) through thick clouds. During NATO air strikes against Serb forces in Bosnia in 1995, special forces used the GEC-Marconi Avionics Type 306 and Varo (now Litton Laser Systems) AN/PEQ-1 Special Operations Forces Laser Marker (SOFLAM)to designate targets for attack by NATO aircraft. The SOFLAM weighs a little over 4kg and places a 3m2 spot over a target at a range of 5km. It can use an integrated Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver. In 1996, Litton Laser Systems introduced the upgraded AN/PEQ-1A SOFLAM that employs a Laser Marker Night-Vision Sight. This allows a special forces soldier to see the laser spot on his target from up to 3km at night, increasing the chance of successful targeting. In recent years, contractors from several NATO countries have been producing a new generation of compact, lightweight laser designators that are small enough to be carried and are more easily hidden at a position overlooking the target. As well as helping NATO pilots target Serb forces with LGBs through poor weather in Kosovo, special forces can provide information on troop movements and help in the rescue of downed pilots. Elite units from the USA and Norway were the first confirmed NATO special forces in theatre Norway's 85 troops are stationed in Macedonia, and an undetermined number of SOCOM forces are based in Italy and possibly also in Macedonia and Albania. Some elements from France's Commandement des Operations Speciales (Special Operations Command) are stationed with France's 3,800-strong contingent in Bosnia and its 2,400 troops in Macedonia. Among those believed to be operating in Kosovo to pick out targets and glean intelligence are small, five-man commando units from France's 13th Airborne Dragoon Regiment, which reports to the DRM military intelligence agency. Others operating covertly in the province come from the Commando Parachute Group, a specialised behind-the-lines force, totalling about 100 men. Also likely to be there are men from the 13th Marine Infantry Regiment, which regularly works for the DGSE foreign intelligence agency. If direct covert action were urgently needed, France would probably deploy the Hubert group, which numbers only about 60 personnel and is trained for clandestine offensive missions. Last week, the crews of US Air Force (USAF) Special Operations MH-53 and MH-60 helicopters, such as those that rescued the pilot from a downedUSAF F-117 Nighthawk stealth fighter last month, openly distributed humanitarian aid near the Kosovo border in Albania Greg Seigle JDW Staff Reporter, with additional reporting by J A C Lewis Jane's Defence Weekly