F-16 Fighting Falcon Units of Operation Iraqi Freedom (Combat Aircraft). Dieser Artikel ist nicht verfügbar.F-16 Fighting Falcon Units of Operation Iraqi Freedom (Combat Aircraft)

Osprey's study of the F-16 Falcon Fighters' role in Operation Iraqi Freedom (2003-present). The F-16, called the Viper by its pilots, has been the most prolific fighter in US and Coalition operations in the Middle East for over a decade. Since the 1991 Gulf War, it has been the workhorse of the UN-sanctioned operations in the region, working in 'Wild Weasel', ground attack and air superiority roles. Operations Southern Watch and Northern Watch required daily and continuous combat patrols over Iraqi territory for over a decade - a task that was made simpler by the bountiful supply of F-16s in USAF service, and the fact that the jet has always been able to assume multiple roles and uses. When US President George W Bush ordered his forces into Iraq in March 2003, the F-16CJ was the second aircraft to enter enemy airspace-proper, sweeping the skies for electrons in a bid to find, identify and kill Iraq's comprehensive air defence system. With the mission fulfilled, hordes of other Coalition fighters followed, including F-16CGs, which were used with great success to strike numerous targets.

Steve Davies is a freelance military and commercial aviation photojournalist based in Cambridge, England. He began writing in 2001, and has since authored six critically acclaimed books and co-authored three more. His freelance writing includes a plethora of articles penned for the world's leading monthly and quarterly aviation publications, and he has also worked on a range of aviation 'partwork' magazines that have sold millions of copies globally. He has also worked as a subject matter expert for a range of military aviation documentaries commissioned by terrestrial television channels in the UK and North America, and by the History Channel. His photography has been used not only by the aviation press, but also by leading defence contractors and aviation corporations.

Douglas C. Dildy is a retired US Air Force colonel who retired with approximately 3,200 hours of fast jet time. As commander of the 32d Fighter Squadron, he enforced the No-Fly-Zone over Iraq, making him an expert on F-15 employment. He is a USAF Academy graduate with a Masters Degree in Political Science and has authored numerous books, including To Defeat the Few for Osprey. He contributes regularly to the modelling magazine Small Air Forces Observer and lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Chris Davey has illustrated more than 70 titles for Osprey's Aircraft of the Aces and Combat Aircraft series since 1994. Based in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, as one of the very last traditional airbrush artists in the business, he has become the company's illustrator of choice for both USAAF fighters and RAF subject matter, proving his undoubted skill when dealing with large aircraft subjects such as the Halifax, Sunderland, Lancaster, and Stirling.