Reply #74: I doubt it

[orangeapple]

You don't invade somebody's airspace secretly with an AC-130. It's a sitting duck and a big radar target.

Unless the administration is completely lying about telling the Pakis (plausible, since they prefer being able to deny involvement for domestic political purposes).

I have read that we had drones on standby if the guys on the ground needed CAS.

If the second helos were sent for refueling it was done on the ground somewhere remote, as in Desert One.

The Blackhawks are more nimble than the Chinooks, and we apparently used a stealth version that might have even been quieter (to provide less alert time to the targets). After the guys get dumped all the helos can provide fire support, and the Chinooks have an enormous lift capacity.