(14 Apr 1999) English/Nat

NATO warplanes hammered Serb targets in Kosovo on Wednesday, in air raids masterminded by NATO officers based at the Aviano airbase in Italy.

All of the planes have returned safely back to Aviano, but the military officials organising the raids say that their pilots are at grave risk from dozens of Yugoslav surface-to-air missile batteries.

And despite the massive new deployments of aircraft to Aviano from the U-S and other NATO member states, alliance commanders say the Yugoslav air-defences make up a far greater threat than they faced in Bosnia in 1995 or over Iraq during the Gulf War.

Aviano airbase in Italy has served as the launch pad for most of the NATO airstrikes against Yugoslav targets.

The base is the U-S air force's permanent installation in Italy.

Security is extremely tight, partly in response to the massive pro-Serbian demonstrations outside the base earlier this week and fear that protestors might try to storm the base.

But staff at the base say that they have been given a warm reception by their Italian hosts.

SOUNDBITE (English)
"Especially over the last three weeks, everybody has just been working wonderfully together, we've had no problems whatsoever, and if we ever needed anything, our hosts have been available to respond and we do the same for them as well."
SUPER CAPTION: Captain Scott Sanford, Security Operations, Aviano Air Base

The 24 hour airstrikes make for a complicated and gruelling air-control operation.

Although only one NATO jet has been lost so far, there is a very real fear that Yugoslav air defences might mean one of the jets which leaves from Aviano does not return.

SOUNDBITE (English)
"I think it has been a difficult 23 days now that we've gone through here. I think the weather has been a major part of that, the cancellation of 50, 60, 70 sorties, sorry, percent of our sorties, many days because of weather. It makes it a difficult equation and quite honestly, the SAM (surface to air missile) threat is up and present and we react to that and we respect that threat. So no, it's not like the Gulf War, where we had basically a free hand at the later stages of the war, we still generally respect their capabilities to target us."
SUPER CAPTION: Lt Col Kurt Grabey, Squadron Operations

NATO commanders plan to double the air armada attacking Yugoslavia.

As part of the initiative, 300 more warplanes are to be moved to Europe from the United States alone, and an unspecified number are also expected to be sent by the other allies.

For Aviano, that escalation will mean that 12 new Canadian C-F-18 fighter jets will be stationed there.

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