View source for Operation Southern Focus

{{Short description|Military operation}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2016}}
{{Infobox military conflict
| conflict          = Operation Southern Focus
| partof            = [[Iraqi no-fly zones]] conflict
| date              = June 2002 – 17 March 2003
| place             = Southern [[Ba'athist Iraq|Iraq]]
| result            = Successful reduction of Iraqi air defense systems
| combatant1        = [[Image:Flag of the United States.svg|22px]] [[United States]]
| combatant2        = [[Image:Flag of Iraq, 1991-2004.svg|22px]] [[Ba'athist Iraq|Republic of Iraq]]
| commander1        = {{flagicon|United States}} [[George W. Bush]]<br /><small>(President of the United States)</small><br />
{{flagicon|United States}} [[T. Michael Moseley]]<br /><small>(USCENTAF Commander)</small>
| commander2        = {{flagicon|Iraq|1991}} [[Saddam Hussein]]<br /><small>(President of Iraq)</small><br />
{{flagicon|Iraq|1991}} [[Hamid Raja Shalah]]<br /><small>(Air Force Commander)</small><br />
{{flagicon|Iraq|1991}} [[Muzahim Saab Hassan]]<br /><small>(Air Defence Commander)</small>
| strength1         = 
| strength2         = 
| casualties1       = 1 [[MQ-1 Predator]] destroyed
| casualties2       = Unknown, many air defense systems destroyed
}}
{{Campaignbox Iraqi no-fly zones conflict}}

'''Operation Southern Focus''' was a period in the months leading up to the [[2003 invasion of Iraq]] (called "Operation Iraqi Freedom" in the [[United States]]) in which the military responses to violations of the southern [[Iraqi no-fly zones]] were increased, with more intensive bombing of [[air defense artillery]] installations and other military complexes.  It also marked a period of increased [[military intelligence|intelligence]] gathering.  The operation lasted from June 2002 until the beginning of the invasion in March 2003.  It was intended to be a "softening up" period prior to invasion, degrading [[Ba'athist Iraq|Iraq]]'s air defense and communication abilities. Lieutenant General [[T. Michael Moseley]] revealed the operation's existence in mid-2003.<ref>Michael R. Gordon (21 July 2003). [http://www.iht.com/articles/103424.html How U.S. softened Iraq's defenses.] ''New York Times''. Accessed via the ''International Herald Tribune'', 4 May 2004.</ref>

==Operation==
The operation was not publicly declared at the time, and was just said to be an intensification of the already-existing [[Operation Southern Watch]].  When it began, the [[United States Defense Department]] and [[CENTCOM]] stated that increasing numbers of bombings of [[Ba'athist Iraq|Iraqi]] installations in the region were merely in response to more attacks by the air-defense forces of that country.  The Iraqi no-fly zones had been patrolled continuously since the end of the 1991 [[Gulf War]], and bombings by American and coalition [[fighter aircraft]] had taken place on a regular basis.  However, Southern Focus saw many more [[Engagement (military)|engagement]]s.  Coalition forces responded to 651 attacks by dropping 606 bombs on 391 targets over the course of the operation.<ref>Michael Smith, ''[[New Statesman]]'', 30 May 2005, [http://www.newstatesman.com/200505300013 "The war before the war"]</ref>

==Bombs usage==
The tonnage of bombs dropped increased from 0 in March 2002 and 0.3 in April 2002 to between 7 and 14 tons per month in May–August, reaching a pre-war peak of 54.6 tons in September – prior to Congress' 11 October [[Joint Resolution to Authorize the Use of United States Armed Forces Against Iraq|authorisation of the invasion]]. The September attacks included a 5 September 100-aircraft attack on the main air defence site in western Iraq. According to ''[[New Statesman]]'' this was "Located at the furthest extreme of the southern no-fly zone, far away from the areas that needed to be patrolled to prevent attacks on the Shias, it was destroyed not because it was a threat to the patrols, but to allow allied special forces operating from Jordan to enter Iraq undetected."

==Success==
Iraq's only success came on 23 December 2002, when a USAF [[RQ-1 Predator]] UAV was experimentally armed with [[AIM-92 Stinger]]s and sent to patrol the no-fly zone in an attempt to bait Iraqi fighters into combat. It was spotted by two Iraqi [[MiG-23]]s and attacked, however both planes were unable to achieve a lock-on.<ref name="Second Death of IrAF">{{citation|title = Second Death of IrAF|url = http://www.acig.org/artman/publish/article_375.shtml|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20051029132757/http://www.acig.org/artman/publish/article_375.shtml|url-status = usurped|archive-date = 29 October 2005|publisher = ACIG.org|accessdate = 15 August 2010}}</ref> A [[MiG-25]] of the 1st Fighter-Interceptor Squadron was then scrambled to assist.<ref name="Second Death of IrAF"/> Both aircraft fired missiles at each other, however, the Iraqi jet was outside of the range of the Stinger so the American missile fell short. The Iraqi missile hit the Predator, destroying it. This was the first time an unmanned aircraft had been used in air-to-air combat.<ref name="Pilotless Warriors Soar To Success">{{citation|title = Pilotless Warriors Soar To Success|url = https://www.cbsnews.com/news/pilotless-warriors-soar-to-success/|publisher = CBS News}}</ref>

The first combat use of the U.S. Navy{{'}}s new [[F/A-18E Super Hornet]] fighter-bomber occurred in November 2002 during Operation Southern Focus, when aircraft from [[VFA-115|Strike Fighter Squadron 115 (VFA-115)]] flying from the [[aircraft carrier]] {{USS|Abraham Lincoln|CVN-72}} struck surface-to-air missile sites and command and control targets near [[Al Kut]].<ref>John Pike (26 March 2004). [http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/ops/southern_focus.htm Operation Southern Focus.] GlobalSecurity.org. Accessed 4 May 2004.</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|Iraq}}
*[[Downing Street memo]]
*[[Operation Rockingham]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Iraq War}}

{{coord missing|Iraq}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Southern Focus}}
[[Category:Aerial operations and battles involving Iraq]]
[[Category:Aerial bombing operations and battles]]
[[Category:2002 in Iraq]]
[[Category:2003 in Iraq]]
[[Category:Attacks on military installations in 2002]]
[[Category:Attacks on military installations in 2003]]
[[Category:Iraqi no-fly zones conflict]]
[[Category:Causes and prelude of the Iraq War]]
[[Category:Aerial operations and battles involving the United States]]
[[Category:Drone strikes conducted by the United States]]
[[Category:Drone strikes in Iraq]]
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[[Category:2003 airstrikes]]
[[Category:Attacks on military installations in Iraq]]
[[Category:2002 building bombings]]
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[[Category:Building bombings in Iraq]]
[[Category:21st-century history of the United States Air Force]]