Operation Arc Light

Operation Arc Light
Part of Second Indochina War
(VietnamLaosCambodia), Combat Skyspot
TypeClose air support operations
Location
Commanded byUnited States Air Force; National Security Agency; Lyndon B. Johnson; Richard Nixon
TargetVietnam, Laos, Cambodia
Date1965–1973
Executed byU.S. Air Force, Strategic Air Command, Combat Skyspot; National Security Agency
Casualties16 B-52 Stratofortresses lost

During Operation Arc Light (sometimes Arclight) from 1965 to 1973, the United States Air Force deployed B-52 Stratofortresses from bases in the U.S. Territory of Guam to provide battlefield air interdiction during the Vietnam War. This included strikes at enemy bases, supply routes, and behind the lines troop concentrations, as well as occasionally providing close air support directly to ground combat operations in Vietnam.[1]

The conventional bombing campaign was supported by ground-control-radar detachments of the 1st Combat Evaluation Group (1CEVG) in Operation Combat Skyspot. Arc Light operations usually targeted enemy base camps, troops concentrations, and supply lines.[citation needed]

  1. ^ Bowman, John S. (1985). The Vietnam War: an Almanac. New York: World Almanac Publications. p. 118. ISBN 0911818855.