I reconfirmed the "kill all helicopters" call from COUGAR several more times. Use of the word "kill" was very rare at this time; we were used to hearing "identify" or "investigate" in conjunction with AWACS' taskings, so the "kill" directive made me a little uneasy. On every radio transmission with her (AWACS controller) I continued to reconfirm the clearance to kill. We turned southwest towards the location of the coordinates, which were about 80 miles from our current position. The area was due south of H2/H3 airfields, out in the middle of nowhere.
On the way down to the area I start to get very intermittent contacts on the radar, but they would come and go off the radar. I tried tightening down the search to a single bar scan to break out the targets, and I was getting hits on and off. What the radar was seeing was the rotation of the rotor blades, but it couldn't hold a lock. So I decide to see if I can see them in the TARGETING pod. I'm doing good of F-4 radar "tilt and gain," but with the pod, and this is with an extremely limited LANTIRN pod air-to-air capability. I would look at the intermittent hit on the radar, and see it, extrapolate two degrees low and ten degrees left. I could then command the pod there. Training counts for everything... there they are! We're at 50-60 miles, at about 8,000 feet, and I can see two of the helicopters, or more correctly their rotors spinning, in the pod. So I transition almost entirely to the pod, since the radar wasn't much help at that point. Our mindset was turning to a ground attack...with what we're seeing and the information from AWACS , I don't think either of us were thinking anything else.
At about 40 miles we started to pick up a bit of an undercast, so we started to take it down. "TB" directed number two to remain up in a high cover in air to-air mode, using the radar and eyeballs, to clear the area around us, and to act as a comm repeater if we lost contact with COUGAR down low. As we ducked under the weather, I'm not sure that anybody saw us - more like noise activated AAA - but we staricd to pick up some lighi AAA, nothing heavy or accurate. I pass to COUGAR thai I have contact with two helicopters, and I reconfirm we are to KILL all helicopters... Still affirmative...by now we are down to about 4,000 feet and snokin. We're doing a little over ihe Mach, and our manuals tell us that we arc not to drop these babies at anything over .9 Mach. The fact of the matter was we still had not totally committed to dropping a GBU-10.
We knew they appeared to be on the ground in the radar. AWACS is telling us they are on the ground dismounting troops. So by 15 miles we are of one mind; this is going to be a ground attack. We confirm one more time with COUGAR that, "These are helicopters, dismounting troops, that there are troops in Contact NOW, and KILL all helicopters." Okay, light em' up! We're doing Mach 1.2ish, and I get the first release cue. "TB" queries me as to whether I'm good for a release. I've got good laser ranging to the target, but I hold off for just a little bit—no technical reason, just a gut feeling. Finally, I call "Cleared to Pickle," and when "TB" pickles-off 2,000 pounds the aircraft immediately responded by shuttering and lurching upward.
After release "TB" executes a 30 to 45 degree left designator turn. Not much more than that, as we are inclined to stay close and immediately support the extraction of the friendly Special Operations forces, or engage the second helicopter, if necessary. I keep the laser spot right on the base of the rotor mast, where the heat from the transmission is very bright in the IR return. The Time-To-Impact counts down to zero, and "TB" says, "Keep it going Chewie, no impact." It seemed like it was easily 10 more seconds before "the GBU-10 that could" came into view on the display. It appeared to be angled nose high, then starts down and penetrates through the rotors, and the scintillation of the rotors as they disintegrated was easily discerned in the LANTIRN pod. The GBU then enters into, or very near to, the cockpit of the helicopter, and is just exiting the bottom of the aircraft when the fuse delay functioned.
Through the entire TOF of the weapon, there was nothing to lead me to believe this aircraft was airborne or even moving, nor was I looking for any clues. It was an easy, easy track. I perceived no line-of-sight rates, and no shadows. I had fantastic IR contrast and was continuously lasing, so I was very focused on the aimpoint. It wasn't until I saw the weapon exit the bottom of the helicopter that I realized it was airborne. I'm still in the pod when the 2,000 lbs of GBU-10 "whupass" functions and the IR signature blooms.
There was a tremendous explosion, and the helicopter just disintegrated in a huge fireball. We are looking at right 2:30 when we see a pillar of flame of almost Biblical proportions. "TB" immediately gets us into a hard turn to the left, and is already setting up to engage the second helicopter while I'm on the radio transmitting, "COUGAR, PACKARD. Splash one helo, expect second splash in 30 seconds!"
An unbelievable and equally unexpected response from COUGAR, "PACKARD 41, confirm you VID the helicopter as Iraqi ."
