PARIS - Countries in the NATO-led air campaign have enough precision munitions and aircraft to attack ground targets and keep military pressure on the Libyan government forces, a senior alliance official and national defense officials said.
Adm. Giampaolo Di Paola, the chairman of NATO's military committee, denied that the air operation in Libya was running short of aircraft or munitions.
"Assets are important; the alliance welcomes any contributions, including strike assets, but there is no substantial lack," Di Paola said April 20. "Any added contribution is welcome, and there is no commander who does not ask. But beyond these alarmist rumors, there is no lack. The operation continues."
The remarks follow an April 15 Washington Post report that said Britain, France and other European countries were running low on stocks of laser-guided bombs.
Other officials from NATO and allied countries said there were enough smart bombs in inventories to maintain the operational pace.
"Military aircraft is an issue for the nations. The availability of military munitions is also dealt with by individual nations contributing to our operations. We have not had any report that they are limited or constrained in the execution of operations. So I think that there's no problem," said Brig. Gen. Mark van Uhm, chief of allied operations at Allied Command Operations.
French officials concurred.
"There is no shortage," French Air Force spokesman Maj. Eric Trihoreau said April 19. "We can maintain this level without a limit on time."
The spokesman for the French Joint Staff, Army Col. Thierry Burkhard, also denied there was a lack of precision guided weapons.
"There is no problem with munitions," Burkhard said. "Stocks are being consumed, but that has not constrained the conduct of operations."
A French industry executive said in any conflict there is a natural concern over the level of munitions, but in the present campaign, there appeared to be enough bombs. In the 1991 Gulf War, coalition countries bought bombs from partners as stocks ran low.
The French government last year ordered Paveway II and Enhanced Paveway II kits to adapt GBU 12 and 49 "dumb bombs" into guided weapons, an industry source said. Deliveries of the Raytheon-built kits were made before the Libya campaign started.
The Mirage 2000D, Super Etendard and Rafale are certified for the Paveway II, while the Rafale has not yet been certified for the improved version.
In February 2010, France ordered 680 armement air-sol modulaire (AASM) guided bombs from Sagem, following an initial order of 750. The AASM kit comes in three versions: GPS/INS, GPS/INS and infrared, and GPS/INS and laser.
In 2009, the government cut the total purchase of AASMs to 2,348 from a planned 3,000 units including 1,200 with laser guidance, according to a 2010 French parliamentary report cited by newsweekly Le Point. At a total budget of 846 million euros ($1.2 billion), that implied an average unit price of 350,000 euros for the AASM, the parliamentary report said.
French warplanes have fired about 10 MBDA Scalp EG air-launched cruise missiles against Libyan ground targets, Burkhard said.
Di Paola said NATO's air campaign was reaching its goals.
"We are preventing Gadhafi from using his full firepower, which is considerable. We are forcing him to use different tactics. In Misrata, it is terrible that he is using mortars and rockets, but with his full firepower it would be a disaster. What we are forcing him to use is less lethal than his heavy tanks and heavy guns," he said.
But di Paola did admit that NATO was less able to stop Gadhafi waging the battle on the streets.
"Rockets and mortars are easily moved and hidden. They are in the urban area in Misrata," he said. "How can we take out a pickup with a mortar in a courtyard of a building without destroying the building?"
NATO is not currently considering the use of ground troops, Di Paola said, but that does not rule out individual nations sending troops into Libya.
"NATO is not the international community. It is an instrument which has taken on part of the commitment, meaning the no-fly zone, the embargo and humanitarian protection. Single countries also have a responsibility to honor the U.N. resolution and bring the crisis to resolution," he said.
Di Paola, the former chief of staff of the Italian military, said that, in any case, any military campaign would not be enough to bring the conflict in Libya to an end.
"There is not only a military strategy; this effort has to be multipronged, including financial measures, meaning sanctions and diplomatic activity," he said. "This is not a conventional war, it's a campaign to sustain a political and economic effort."
A spokeswoman for the Royal Air Force said it had sufficient stocks of ammunition and shortages were "not an issue."
The RAF has used MBDA developed Dual Mode Brimstone and Storm Shadow missiles and Raytheon's Paveway IV and Enhanced Paveway 2 as its strike weapons in Libya. With the exception of Storm Shadow, the weapons are also regularly used against the Taliban in Afghanistan where the RAF also has jets deployed.
A senior British air force officer also denied Britain has a problem with its munitions stocks. He said as far as he was aware, Denmark was the only nation that had had a problem and it had its stocks topped up by the U.S. military.
Micheal Langberg, the head of information at the Danish Air Force's tactical command, said he didn't know whether its munitions - GBU49s and GBU31s - were Danish or American, but the Air Force is "not short of weapons." The Danish Defence Acquisition & Logistics Organisation responsible for buying precision guided munitions and other weapons was not immediately available.
-- Andrew Chuter in London, Julian Hale in Brussels and Tom Kington in Rome contributed to this report.
Above, French armement air-sol modulaire guided bombs. France and other NATO nations deny that their bomb stockpiles are running low. (Wikipedia)
"Assets are important; the alliance welcomes any contributions, including strike assets, but there is no substantial lack," Di Paola said April 20. "Any added contribution is welcome, and there is no commander who does not ask. But beyond these alarmist rumors, there is no lack. The operation continues."
The remarks follow an April 15 Washington Post report that said Britain, France and other European countries were running low on stocks of laser-guided bombs.
Other officials from NATO and allied countries said there were enough smart bombs in inventories to maintain the operational pace.
"Military aircraft is an issue for the nations. The availability of military munitions is also dealt with by individual nations contributing to our operations. We have not had any report that they are limited or constrained in the execution of operations. So I think that there's no problem," said Brig. Gen. Mark van Uhm, chief of allied operations at Allied Command Operations.
French officials concurred.
"There is no shortage," French Air Force spokesman Maj. Eric Trihoreau said April 19. "We can maintain this level without a limit on time."
The spokesman for the French Joint Staff, Army Col. Thierry Burkhard, also denied there was a lack of precision guided weapons.
"There is no problem with munitions," Burkhard said. "Stocks are being consumed, but that has not constrained the conduct of operations."
A French industry executive said in any conflict there is a natural concern over the level of munitions, but in the present campaign, there appeared to be enough bombs. In the 1991 Gulf War, coalition countries bought bombs from partners as stocks ran low.
The French government last year ordered Paveway II and Enhanced Paveway II kits to adapt GBU 12 and 49 "dumb bombs" into guided weapons, an industry source said. Deliveries of the Raytheon-built kits were made before the Libya campaign started.
The Mirage 2000D, Super Etendard and Rafale are certified for the Paveway II, while the Rafale has not yet been certified for the improved version.
In February 2010, France ordered 680 armement air-sol modulaire (AASM) guided bombs from Sagem, following an initial order of 750. The AASM kit comes in three versions: GPS/INS, GPS/INS and infrared, and GPS/INS and laser.
In 2009, the government cut the total purchase of AASMs to 2,348 from a planned 3,000 units including 1,200 with laser guidance, according to a 2010 French parliamentary report cited by newsweekly Le Point. At a total budget of 846 million euros ($1.2 billion), that implied an average unit price of 350,000 euros for the AASM, the parliamentary report said.
French warplanes have fired about 10 MBDA Scalp EG air-launched cruise missiles against Libyan ground targets, Burkhard said.
Di Paola said NATO's air campaign was reaching its goals.
"We are preventing Gadhafi from using his full firepower, which is considerable. We are forcing him to use different tactics. In Misrata, it is terrible that he is using mortars and rockets, but with his full firepower it would be a disaster. What we are forcing him to use is less lethal than his heavy tanks and heavy guns," he said.
But di Paola did admit that NATO was less able to stop Gadhafi waging the battle on the streets.
"Rockets and mortars are easily moved and hidden. They are in the urban area in Misrata," he said. "How can we take out a pickup with a mortar in a courtyard of a building without destroying the building?"
NATO is not currently considering the use of ground troops, Di Paola said, but that does not rule out individual nations sending troops into Libya.
"NATO is not the international community. It is an instrument which has taken on part of the commitment, meaning the no-fly zone, the embargo and humanitarian protection. Single countries also have a responsibility to honor the U.N. resolution and bring the crisis to resolution," he said.
Di Paola, the former chief of staff of the Italian military, said that, in any case, any military campaign would not be enough to bring the conflict in Libya to an end.
"There is not only a military strategy; this effort has to be multipronged, including financial measures, meaning sanctions and diplomatic activity," he said. "This is not a conventional war, it's a campaign to sustain a political and economic effort."
A spokeswoman for the Royal Air Force said it had sufficient stocks of ammunition and shortages were "not an issue."
The RAF has used MBDA developed Dual Mode Brimstone and Storm Shadow missiles and Raytheon's Paveway IV and Enhanced Paveway 2 as its strike weapons in Libya. With the exception of Storm Shadow, the weapons are also regularly used against the Taliban in Afghanistan where the RAF also has jets deployed.
A senior British air force officer also denied Britain has a problem with its munitions stocks. He said as far as he was aware, Denmark was the only nation that had had a problem and it had its stocks topped up by the U.S. military.
Micheal Langberg, the head of information at the Danish Air Force's tactical command, said he didn't know whether its munitions - GBU49s and GBU31s - were Danish or American, but the Air Force is "not short of weapons." The Danish Defence Acquisition & Logistics Organisation responsible for buying precision guided munitions and other weapons was not immediately available.
-- Andrew Chuter in London, Julian Hale in Brussels and Tom Kington in Rome contributed to this report.
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