On January 24, tankers encountered F-117s in Iraqi airspace above the 33rd parallel to "complete" the hunters so they can hit the bioweapons bunkers. Seeing the tankers' radar, the Iraqis waited. A barrage of anti-aircraft guns as well as surface-to-air missiles were dropped twenty-seven minutes after refueling, above Baghdad. Fortunately, the F-117s were in northern Iraq and far from the capital. Another sortie allowed a group of 48 F-16s to fly through dangerous airspace to raze one of Baghdad's nuclear research centers. Planners had initially signed off on F-4G Wild Weasels to combat SAMs (surface-to-air missiles), but that plan quickly soured. (Grant, 2011) Commanders were forced to make split decisions, due to the delay of the tankers. This is why the 12 F-16s ended up flying towards the target alone. Two of which were lost to SAM. Accounting for only 34% of the sorties hit in Desert Storm, strategic strikes would ultimately destroy 23,455 sorties. (Grant, 2011) The ultimate objective of the air battle was to destroy as many of the Iraqi tanks, armored personnel carriers and artillery lined up on the Kuwait border as possible before the ground offensive took place . It was imperative that the air raid eliminate as many armor as possible, as the troops were outnumbered at least three to two. The crews were then assigned to their own kill box. These were sectors specific to the Iraqi unit in Kuwait. They were ordered to beat them again and again. Considering that the Iraqi forces still had air resistance artillery, they covered SAMs and F-4G Wild Weasels. In addition to active electronic suppression aircraft. With the entire US Air Force "signals intelligence" collection... middle of paper ... reflection. (Department of the Air Force, 1991) Works CitedDepartment of the Air Force. (1991). Reaching the World, Reaching Mighty: The United States Air Force in the Gulf War. JA Bookbinders Inc. Grant, R. (January 2011). Desert Storm. From Air Force Magazine: Online Journal of the Air Force Association: http://www.airforcemag.com/magazinearchive/pages/2011/january%202011/0111storm.aspxHistory.com Staff. (2009). Persian Gulf War. Retrieved from History: http://www.history.com/topics/persian-gulf-warProgram Evaluation and Methodology Division. (1997, June 12). Operation Desert Strom. From Operation Desert Strom: Air Campaign Assessment: http://www.fas.org/man/gao/nsiad97134/app_05.htmStewart, RW (2005). American Military History Vol. II The American Army in the Age of Globalization, 1917-2003. Washington: Library of Congress.