I am sure that you have seen this done many times on TV. Well the way it happens on TV versus real life are two different things. The air strike is a well planned, orchestrated, and rehearsed action. This event is conducted by Air Force and ground personnel who are highly trained and is very dangerous. People will become excited and confused in the heat of battle and if critical information is mixed up or unclear the operation will have to be aborted in order to save human lives. The biggest danger factor is the accidental killing of friendly troops. This happens because of many different reasons which may include; faulty equipment or wrong data entered into military equipment, an incorrect location given to the pilot or controller, or a wrong identification of the intended target. When the pilot of an attacking aircraft is unsure of the target he should not attack it. The observer or controller should not forward information to the pilot if he is not sure of the target description also.
Many times ground units lose track of their exact location because they are engrossed with fighting the enemy that they are facing. They are chasing the enemy or being chased so many times they are not sure of exactly where they are in reference to providing the correct map coordinates. The responsibility of the person who relays the request to the pilot on standby is to make sure that the information that he has is correct. If he is with the unit he must be trained in map reading and terrain recognition. He also needs to be trained in the recognition of friendly and enemy troops and vehicles. This becomes increasingly important when NATO units or other alliances are conducting joint operations. Each country has its own unique uniforms and vehicles so the observer must be able to quickly and accurately identify friend and foe.
Ground troops love to hear and see air support craft when they are involved in combat operations. If they ask for air support you can bet that lives depend on a prompt and accurate reaction. It is extremely imperative that correct information is passed to the pilot of the air craft.
There are several ways of insuring that the pilot strikes the correct target. The technique most used is for the observer to paint the target with a laser. The signal that the laser emits has a code which the pilots weapons system recognizes and uses to home in on the target. The older technique which I learned as a forward observer was to mark the target using smoke, white phosphorus, or illumination rounds. I would have the supporting artillery unit fire a round at the target. The purpose of using these specialized types of ammunition was there they were easily identified by the pilot, even if the battlefield was busy. As the pilot approached the target I would give him the distance and direction of the target from the easily identifiable marker.
Since air craft can deliver heavy ammunition directly onto a target they were useful because of the amount of damage that they could inflict. In the case of large targets air craft would not destroy every individual target but they would certainly inflict enough damage to even out the odds.
Aircraft which are designed to provide close support such as the A-10 are most effective and most appreciated by ground troops. One reason that the A-10 is so effective is because it can literally hover over the target area at slow speeds. Ground personnel are grateful for any help that they can get from the air but the A-10 is renowned as a ground support air craft.
