B-1 and Close Air Support rationale

[artik]

I read recently a news that in Afghanistan 5 US soldiers were killed in friendly fire accident by an aircraft performing CAS... Of course these are sad and unfortunate news. But such things happen at war event to the best military. So I would dismiss that article unless I had seen that B-1 was performing CAS mission... 

I'm not telling that the failure occurred because of the use of B1 - these what investigations are for and no need to jump to conclusions.

However I do not understand why B-1 was used for CAS in first place (not that it can't bring the bombs accuratly with modern highly accurate weapons), and I'm asking for cost vs effectiveness point of view in the first place...

Dragging a low altitude penetration supersonic bomber to drop bombs to help the troops seems like sending a B-29 to hunt GVs assuming (he can hit them) instead of using IL-2, A-20 or even simple P-47...

Living aside the entire talk about need of A-10, even a cheap bomb-track like F-16 can drop a high precision ammunition very well...

So does anybody have a clue why B-1 entered this role in first place?

(warning: it may be easy to drag this thread to politics so be aware try to keep it out of the thread)

[earl1937]

I read recently a news that in Afghanistan 5 US soldiers were killed in friendly fire accident by an aircraft performing CAS... Of course these are sad and unfortunate news. But such things happen at war event to the best military. So I would dismiss that article unless I had seen that B-1 was performing CAS mission... 

I'm not telling that the failure occurred because of the use of B1 - these what investigations are for and no need to jump to conclusions.

However I do not understand why B-1 was used for CAS in first place (not that it can't bring the bombs accuratly with modern highly accurate weapons), and I'm asking for cost vs effectiveness point of view in the first place...

Dragging a low altitude penetration supersonic bomber to drop bombs to help the troops seems like sending a B-29 to hunt GVs assuming (he can hit them) instead of using IL-2, A-20 or even simple P-47...

Living aside the entire talk about need of A-10, even a cheap bomb-track like F-16 can drop a high precision ammunition very well...

So does anybody have a clue why B-1 entered this role in first place?

(warning: it may be easy to drag this thread to politics so be aware try to keep it out of the thread)

Interesting question, but I think, just speculation on my part, that it has something to do with training! Not sure where they launched from, but I would guess that in the interest of keeping the flight crews sharp and ready for any situation which might come up, I would guess that the AF brass decided that this was a great opportunity to sharpen and test their,(the flight crews), ability to adjust to new and changing situations on the ground. Its one thing to practice with old trucks, buildings, railroads and etc., but an entirely different thing for "live" fire exercises', knowing that a mistake could and have killed friendly forces on the ground. What little I know about the B-1 is just what I have read and it is a highly complex weapon delivery system, which can't sit in the "barn" and just use when ever you need it. I would have to agree that using tactical fighters for a mission such as you describe, would be more cost effective and maybe more accurate, but how do we keep our long range bomber crews sharp and combat ready?

[artik]

... but how do we keep our long range bomber crews sharp and combat ready?

Like Brits 

http://bbs.hitechcreations.com/smf/index.php/topic,363121.msg4829120.html#msg4829120

[Bodhi]

Extremely long loiter times and smart munitions are the reason a B-1 is used.  It's not like the B-1 is making gun passes.

[Rich46yo]

The B1b tho its only flown 5% of the sorties has dropped 40% of the tonnage on the enemy in Afganistan.

We keep a few in Guam and they can fly all day in Afghanistan with up to 24 2,000lb bombs with GPS kits on them. All you have to do is tell the crew what GPS numbers you want to drop the bombs on, they dial them in, and BOOM! But there have been a few incidents where FACs have sent their own coordinates by accident. I wouldnt be surprised if this is one of them. But I dont know the details.

[Cthulhu]

Like Bodhi said, B-1's are used because of their huge payload and loiter time. It's misleading to refer to their mission as "Close Air Support" because there's nothing "close" about dropping JDAM's from altitude. Their mission isn't terribly different from the Arc Light missions the B-52's flew in Vietnam, except that the strikes are far more precise and they don't use 80 tons of bombs to take out one ox cart.

[Rich46yo]

If there is any good to this story, and Im not sure there is, its that FFIs happen far less then even Gulf-1 due to the sophistication of the weapons and precision gear, be it laser or GPS. Man in WW2 there were incidents of entire companies being wiped out due to faulty bomb drops. Imagine how hard it must have been to get back in the air after something like that? Gulf-1 had comparatively few mishaps but the ones that did happen WERE heartbreakers. Most of all the ones involving accidentals on our Brit cousins.

So while technology prevents many of these from happening it also makes them far more lethal when they do. Somehow everyone involved must carry on after. Lord I dont know how they do other then with incredible courage and sacrifice.

[Cthulhu]

Rich46yo is right. Modern technology has made war so "sterile", and we've become so insulated from the ugliness of it, that we tend to forget how wide spread fratricide and massive colateral damage was in the past. It was accepted as an unfortunate reality of war.

[MiloMorai]

in WW2 there were incidents of entire companies being wiped out due to faulty bomb drops

Even killed an American General.

During Operation Cobra, the American offensive push south from western Normandy, bombs from the U.S. Eighth Air Force landed on American troops on two separate occasions.

    On 24 July, some 1,600 bombers flew in support of the opening bombardment for Cobra. Due to bad weather they were unable to see their targets. Although some were recalled, and others declined to bomb without visibility, a number did, which hit U.S. positions. Twenty-five were killed and 131 wounded in this incident.
    The following day, on 25 July, the operation was repeated by 1,800 bombers of 8th Air Force. On this occasion, the weather was clear, but despite requests by First Army commander Gen. Omar Bradley to bomb east to west, along the front in order to avoid creepback, the air commanders made their attack north to south, over Allied lines. As more and more bombs fell short, and U.S. positions again were hit, 111 were killed and 490 wounded. Lieutenant General Lesley McNair was among the dead, the highest-ranking victim of American friendly fire.

[Schen]

Even the a-10 in the CAS ( close air support for those wondering) saw friendly casualties in Afghanistan especially to the Canadians,  airframe aside there is always a chance for blue on blue in CAS situations.

[MiloMorai]

On another board some suggested that the battery was replaced and the unit restarted with its coords. The coords of the target was not inputted.

[Cthulhu]

On another board some suggested that the battery was replaced and the unit restarted with its coords. The coords of the target was not inputted.

That's the story I recall as well.

[Rich46yo]

On another board some suggested that the battery was replaced and the unit restarted with its coords. The coords of the target was not inputted.

I think this has happened before.