(6 Apr 1999) English/Nat
For almost two weeks now, NATO has sustained an air campaign against Serb forces in Yugoslavia from the Aviano air base in northern Italy.
Bad weather has hampered attacks but with clear skies expected over the next few days, NATO aims to step up its raids.
Taking part in the air strikes is the 555th "Triple Nickel" Squadron - one of America's most notorious fighter units.
Every day for the last two weeks, Aviano's maintenance personnel have gone through rigorous bomb checks on each aircraft.
Central to Aviano's wealth of fighting machines is the 555th "Triple Nickel" Fighter Squadron.
The Triple Nickel arrived at Aviano in 1994 - flying the F-16C Fighting Falcon, the squadron plays a vital part in the NATO offensive.
SOUNDBITE: (English)
"I think the world is watching the news every day and is looking for immediate battle damage assessment for this war to get to a critical point and end. But again, this is a deliberate campaign that has a process of targets that we will go after on order to take down these things that he (Milosevic) holds dear. And we are stepping along that time line and taking out these targets. There are no targets that we are going after that are not important, that are not worth taking the risk, that our pilots take to go after them. They are all part of a much larger picture that has been well thought out by our senior leadership."
SUPER CAPTION: Dave Goldfein, 'Triple Nickel' Squadron Leader
As planes return from a bombing raid, the next wave are loaded with bombs.
Among them are the F-16s.
The plane is described as a compact, multi role fighter aircraft.
It can locate targets in all weather conditions and detect low-flying aircraft in radar ground clutter.
An all-weather capability allows it to use its bombs and missiles accurately even when flying in poor visibility.
NATO forces are stepping up preparations for their latest round of attacks on Yugoslavia in an attempt to take advantage of clear weather conditions.
During the initial NATO attacks, about 70 U-S and NATO planes went on missions.
British, French and German aircraft also took part in the raids.
Since April of 1993, the air base has hosted aircraft from every branch of the Department of Defence and multiple countries in support of the U-N Security Council Resolutions.
It is now home to USAF F-16s and EC-130 ABCCCs, Navy E-6A Prowlers, Marine F-18s, Army helicopters and British AWACs.
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