A-10s over Kosovo (illustrations removed)

The rescue delayed the arrival of the SEAD assets, including Navy EA-6Bs. The ROEs would not allow any aircraft into Kosovo without the presence of SEAD. I waited just south of the border for nearly 30 minutes. Finally, Magic (NAEW, NATO’s version of AWACS) called the SEAD on station, and I turned north for the target area. The artillery revetments were 30 miles north of Pristina. As I approached the revetments I took out my binoculars and spotted a 2S1 122 mm self-propelled artillery piece parked at the edge of the tree line. At the same time, Magic reported that the call of “SEAD on station” was only for the western area and that the NBA was closing down. I knew I had just one shot at the 2S1 and quickly rolled in from the east. Locking up the vehicle with my Maverick seeker, I waited for the steady cross to indicate a valid lock before I launched the missile. Unfortunately, the target was hot enough to lock up but not hot enough for a steady cross. Knowing that I probably wouldn’t get to work any more targets that day, I decided to test my luck and launch with the flashing cross. After all, I hadn’t missed on any of my previous Mavericks and knew there was a chance the missile would guide all the way to the target. So I hammered down until I felt the now-familiar sensation of a 500 lb missile accelerating off the rail. I pulled off target, watched the Maverick impact the 2S1, and proceeded as directed to the south. On Magic’s radarscopes it must have looked like I had simply made a U-turn. 

\Photo: 2S1 122 mm self-propelled artillery, similar to the one destroyed by Maj Goldie Haun on 2 May 1999

The drive south took about 10 minutes. I was concerned about staying well clear of Pristina with its SAMs, particularly since Magic had just announced that I had no SEAD support. Still, my concern did not preclude looking for targets to attack later. As I climbed out to the southeast, I searched the roads and hillside for any signs of military activity.

I was about four miles north of G-Town. To avoid confusion and save time, we called towns with difficult pronunciations by their first letter. Gnjilane became G-Town, Dakovica became D-Town, and Urosevac was U-Town. I noted a narrow, jagged valley with what appeared to be man-made diagonal cuts through the trees alongside the road. I put the binoculars on the cuts and picked out two tanks. I marked my map, and as I continued to the tanker, started to come up with a game plan. While we refueled, I contacted Magic and coordinated SEAD support for a hasty attack. Magic was able to get SEAD but only 20 minutes’ worth. By the time I got off the tanker and headed north, I realized I would have less than 10 minutes on station for the attack.

\Map: Valley four miles north of G-Town

I decided the best avenue of attack would be from the southeast. Due to the narrowness of the valley and the dirt revetments in which the tanks were hiding, the precision-guided Maverick seemed the best weapon. The attack went as planned, except for a small glitch. I had identified the tanks while looking from north to south. Approaching from the southeast, I misidentified the diagonal cutout and rolled in on an empty revetment. I recognized the mistake early and quickly came off target, climbing to the east to regain energy.

After aborting my first attack, I extended for another roll-in. This time I identified the correct cutout and tried to lock up the tank. Unfortunately, the Maverick locked onto a large dirt pile at the rear of the cutout, which was hotter than the tank. It was apparent the Maverick would not work against this target. The remaining options did not appear to have much chance for success. The narrowness of the valley and the protection of the cutouts meant a direct hit with Mk-82s would be required to kill the tanks—and that would be very difficult to accomplish. I didn’t have any available fighters with LGBs, and the only other option was to strafe the tanks. This was a riskier choice since I would have to dive to a much lower altitude to get in range.

I decided to let Andy drop two of his bombs to get their heads down, and I would follow up with a strafe pass. I was still low on energy and climbing to the north as Andy rolled in out of the northwest with a tailwind. His bombs landed just north of the tanks with no direct hits. From the radio traffic I knew my time was running out and this would be our last attack. I elected to strafe both targets on one pass, trying to get bullets on both tanks.

\Photo: T-54/55 tank shot by Maj Goldie Haun on 7 June 1999, similar to tanks strafed on 2 May 1999