Command Posts on U.S. Ships Track the Action

WASHINGTON — In the darkened combat information center of the 60,000-ton aircraft carrier, naval officers and sailors peer at blips and lines on their radar screens. Pale red lights cast an eerie glow, and from night to day to night, there is no apparent change.

From just such centers aboard three carriers operating just north of Moammar Kadafi’s “line of death,” and from the high-tech command-and-control center aboard a guided missile cruiser, American skippers could direct and keep track of the staccato-like action Monday in the disputed Gulf of Sidra and its airspace.

The conflagration was one of fits and starts, of missiles fired over great distances, as the Navy tested in brief combat some of the more sophisticated weapons in its arsenal.

Considered No Match

The pilots of the U.S. aircraft that came under fire from a missile battery recently installed at the Libyan coastal town of Surt were up against weapons new to the Libyan arsenal. But the Libyan missiles are not considered particularly dangerous against advanced U.S. warplanes equipped with the top-notch electronic defenses and operating at high speeds.

However, the SA-5 missiles, which were supplied by the Soviet Union and became operational two months ago, according to U.S. officials, gave Libya a vastly expanded anti-aircraft range.

The SA-5 missiles can reach a distance of about 150 miles, and “hit a nice arc” extending out from Surt, a Pentagon official said, speaking on the condition that he not be identified by name.

“It’s a threat, but not a threat they can’t handle,” said the official as he put himself in the place of the pilots coming under attack. He said the U.S. aircraft could use decoys to divert the missile, a 20-year-old weapon that homes in on radar emissions from the target.

Weinberger Comment

While the SA-5s that were fired at the U.S. aircraft missed their targets, Defense Secretary Caspar W. Weinberger said there was no doubt that they were aimed in hostility and were “capable of inflicting great damage.”

With such high-tech battles fought over wide distances, and targets sometimes invisible to the eye but clearly captured by radar or by the use of satellites, questions can arise over how pilots and combat commanders in ships many miles away can be certain attacks have occurred.

When asked, in this case, how he knew that the SA-5s were fired, Weinberger replied: “We were thoroughly and completely satisfied, after numerous corroborative evidences and sightings and other things, that SA-5 missiles were fired and . . . then more fired.”

25-Mile Range

Until the SA-5 battery at Surt became operational, Libya relied on Soviet-supplied SA-2 missiles, which have a range of no more than about 25 miles.

The SA-5s were installed with the help of Soviet technicians and advisers, Weinberger said, but neither he nor other U.S. officials were able to say whether any Soviets were at the site at the time of the attacks.

Against the Surt battery, the U.S. sent an A-7 Corsair, based on the carrier Saratoga. The attack jet is equipped with high-speed anti-radiation missiles, known by the acronym HARM. The 164-inch, 796-pound weapon is intended to destroy electronic emitters, which can be used to direct surface-to-air missiles.

The HARM can travel at twice the speed of sound, operating at whatever altitude its host aircraft can reach. Weinberger said that one, and possibly two, were fired.

Harpoons Launched

When a Libyan guided missile patrol boat, of the Combattante class, was spotted in the western end of the Gulf of Sidra, an A-6 Intruder from the carrier America launched two Harpoon missiles, according to Weinberger.

The Harpoon is a medium-range cruise missile that can be launched from surface ships, submarines or airplanes, against surface targets. It has a range of about 80 miles and weighs 1,160 pounds.

Afire, Dead in Water

The missiles left the ship afire and dead in the water, with no survivors visible, Weinberger said.

A second Libyan vessel, which appeared headed for the U.S. fleet after leaving the port of Benghazi, was also “severely damaged” by an aerial attack, Weinberger said, although details of this incident were sketchy.

The defense secretary said the Libyan vessels were capable of high speeds and were equipped with weapons that could threaten U.S. ships from a distance of 38 miles.

The patrol boats “could have easily taken care of” U.S. vessels in the region, he said.