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File: 120596_aadab_18.txtA thick fog set in at King Fahad Air Base as the first wave was returning to base, [(b)(1)sec3.4(b)(4)] A total of thirty-nine extra sorties were flown, as returning aircraft recovered at other bases in Saudi Arabia and then flew short sorties to return to King Fahad Air Base to prepare for the second wave. The other aircraft orbited the base until the fog lifted enough to allow safe landings. Even with these problems, all of the aircraft returned safely to base. The second wave of the first day of Operation Desert Storm included twenty-six F-lllF fighters and ten EF-1llA electronic countermeasures aircraft. These sorties took place the night of 17 January, with some of the aircraft not returning to base until shortly after midnight on the morning of l8 January. All ten of the EF-lllA sorties were rated as successful, with the Ravens providing effective jamming of enemy radar systems over target areas. Two ground aborts affected the F-lllF wave, leaving twenty-four sorties flown. Of the twenty-four bombing sorties flown, fourteen were rated as unsuccessful for a variety of reasons, resulting in a success rate of forty-two percent for the wave. The second wave of F-lllF aircraft launched on the first day of the war included six separate flights of aircraft attacking six different targets. Most of the aircraft carried GBU-24 guided bombs for high accuracy, while three carried GBU-15 guided bombs and three others used CBU-89 and CBU-87 cluster bombs. The first
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