Over Vietnam the mighty B-52 didnt hit shit until Linebacker II in 1972 and at the cost of 30% of the strike force. The B-52 carpet bombed the 'Trail' and around the besiged Marines at Kae Sahn (sp?) but it was never proven they hit anything.
During desert storm it did much damage with its heavy strikes. B-52s flew 1,624 missions, dropped 72,000 weapons (totaling more than 25,700 tons) on targets in Kuwait and southern Iraq, and on airfields, industrial targets and storage areas in Iraq.
The B-52 is a great aircraft, but the F-111 was actually a much more effective combat aircraft.
With its Forward Looking Infrared Radar (FLIR) and laser designation system, F-111F's attacked chemical, biological and nuclear sites. The aircraft also attacked airfields, bunkers, command, control and communications facilities, and parts of the integrated air defense system with great success. F-111F's flew more than 4,000 sorties in Desert Storm and only one was damaged by enemy air defenses. F-111s accounted for more damage to these command centers then all other aircraft strikes combined.
The 18 EF-111 Ravens deployed in support of Desert Storm flew more than 900 sorties. Effective jamming by EF-111s negated the Iraqis' ability to track, acquire, and target attacking aircraft. 1 Iraqi Mirage was credited destroyed to an EF-111 in a 'maneuver kill'
The 48 F-4G Wild Weasels deployed to the theater in support of Desert Storm flew 2,500 sorties. As a testament to the effectiveness of the F-4G's with their high-speed anti-radar missiles (HARM), the Iraqis did not use their sector operations centers and radars because if a system was on for more than a few seconds, operators risked the return of a HARM missile.
And as a direct comparison to all these aircraft...
The Air Force sent 144 A-10s to the theater. While flying only 30 percent of the Air Force's total sorties, these aircraft achieved more than half of the confirmed Iraqi equipment losses and fired 90 percent of the precision-guided Maverick missiles launched during Desert Storm. They demonstrated versatility as daytime Scud hunters in Iraq and even recorded two helicopter kills with their 30mm guns. Although A-10s flew more than 8,000 sorties in Desert Storm, only five were lost in combat in a very high-threat environment.
The F-16 proved itself to be a versatile aircraft able to attack targets both day and night, in good or bad weather. The Air Force's 249 F-16s deployed to the Gulf flew more than 13,450 sorties -- more than any other aircraft in the war. They attacked Iraqi equipment in Kuwait and southern Iraq, flew missions against Scud missiles and launchers, and destroyed interdiction targets such as military production and support, chemical production facilities, and airfields.
The F-16s further performance during Operation Deny FLight included multiple Iraqi airdefense radar site kills with HARM and command HQ kills with guided precision weapons. Also credited was the first destruction of an enemy aircraft with a AIM-120 AMRAAM missile, as an F-16 downed an Iraqi MiG over the southern No FLy Zone...
So essentially the B-52 and the F-111 are both great aircraft. They both contributed heavily to USAF structure.. However the F-111 is still a capable aircraft for penetrating active airdefenses like those in North Korea. The B-52 isnt. You can not use the BUFF to attack enemy infrastructure until you have eliminated all airdefenses and associated radars plus the enemies airforce. The F-111 doesnt have these requirements. The Ardvark can go 'on the deck' at over Mach 1 to target with a full load or either dumb or guided weapons and carry sidewinders for self defense. It is quite capable at flying at 50' suersonically with monitoring of its tercom system by the pilot.
The Airforce has the B-1 and the B-2 to do the BUFFs old penetration job..
The F-15E has been shown to not have the same potential at low level incursion as the Ardvark did. While a good aircraft, flying 'in the weeds' is not an option for the Strike Eagle as it gets beatup at low altitude and is speed limited due to its design. While a great bird itself, it isnt a real replacement for the F-111. Its range, with a warload, does not approach that of the Arvark either.
The USAF does not have sufficient forces now, due to the F-111 retirements, to effectively project power 'anywhere at anytime' in the tactical role...
The F-4G did nto even come close to performing the massive number of different missions the varks did...
However if you had originally said all F4s... that MAY have illicited a different response!
