"Ed Rasimus" wrote in message
...
On 5 Feb 2006 06:45:53 -0800, "KDR" wrote:

Has any air force ever tried or practiced providing a consistent
CAP
over a fleet by air-to-air refueling? I am wondering whether or not
RAF
Tornado F3 units had ever done that.

NATO called the concept TASMO (Tactical Air Support of Maritime
Operations) and it involved land-based tactical aircraft tasked with
both offensive and defensive mission in support of ships.

Convoys in proximity to land masses can be easily covered as well as
fleets supporting amphibious ops.

The hard part is coordinating the airspace and fire control, since
much fleet air defense is handled by SAMs and carrier-based
aircraft.
With everyone on board coordinated by AWACS it becomes easier.

Is that what the Germans were up to when they strapped Kormoran onto
Starfighters? The Baltic sounds like a good place to do it, as would
have been North Norway. (I do not remember it being among the tasks
talked about for AMF(A), but it would have made sense given the naval
infantry threat.)
--
Andrew Chaplin
SIT MIHI GLADIUS SICUT SANCTO MARTINO
(If you're going to e-mail me, you'll have to get "yourfinger." out.)