Fighter Jets Collide Over Gulf One Pilot Killed; Buildup Of U.S. Forces Continues
Two U.S. Marine Corps fighter jets collided off the coast of Kuwait and crashed into the waters of the Persian Gulf Friday, killing one of the two pilots involved, military officials said.
The mid-air collision of two F/A-18C Hornet jets 80 miles east of Kuwait City was the second Marine aviation disaster in the last three days. In the earlier accident on Tuesday, an EA-6B Prowler electronic-jamming plane cut a cable at an Italian mountain resort, causing 20 skiers to tumble to their deaths.
Navy and Marine Corps officials provided few details about Friday’s incident, which occurred shortly before 8 p.m. local time (9 a.m. PST) They were uncertain Friday whether the two single-seat jets were leaving or returning to their aircraft carrier, the USS George Washington.
The George Washington is one of three U.S. carriers in the Persian Gulf in preparation for a possible U.S. military strike on Iraq. The F/A-18C jets were assigned to patrol the skies of southern Iraq deemed offlimits to Iraqi jets under the six-year-old Operation Southern Watch.
Officials did not release the name of the pilot who died in the crash. The second pilot, who also was not identified, was rescued from the water and was reported to be in good condition, according to the public affairs office in Bahrain of the U.S. Naval Forces Central Command’s Fifth Fleet.
Defense Secretary William S. Cohen said Friday that additional U.S. warplanes will be sent to the Persian Gulf “within the next several days” in further preparation for airstrikes against Iraq.
Adding to more than 400 U.S. aircraft are already in the region, Gen. Anthony Zinni, the top U.S. commander there, has requested doubling the number of F-117 stealth fighter jets to 12 and increasing the number of B-52 bombers from eight to 14. He also is seeking more aircraft and HARM air-to-ground missiles to counter Iraqi air defenses, as well as additional special forces teams to assist in search-and-rescue efforts.
Cohen, who arrived in Munich, Germany, Friday, characterized the added airpower “as more of a reserve and a backup.” U.S. officials worry that Iraq may respond to any airstrike by lashing out with ground forces or missiles against Kuwait, Saudi Arabia or Israel. Similar concerns, officials said, were behind the decision Thursday to dispatch a four-ship contingent of 2,200 Marines to the gulf.
Cohen is in Germany to attend a security conference that he will follow with a swing through six Persian Gulf states beginning Sunday for talks about U.S. military plans. The secretary told reporters traveling with him that his intention is to reassure gulf leaders that the planned strikes represent “a serious effort” to bring Iraqi President Saddam Hussein into compliance with United Nations resolutions.
“There have been concerns in the past that when Saddam has taken certain provocative action, we responded in a rather mild fashion,” Cohen said. “This is not mild or meager, this is substantial. So I will lay out essentially what the parameters of a force projection effort would be.”
While seeking support among proWestern Arab countries, Cohen said he was disappointed with the response to the crisis by U.N. Security Council members which have withheld support for military action.
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