 Prior to late February 2003, all USAF, USN, USMC, RAF and French Air Force aircraft based in Saudi Arabia had been "defensive" assets in support of the defense of Saudi Arabia, e.g., with the exception of AGM-88 HARM missiles carried by USAF F-16CJ and USN or USMC EA-6B aircraft as defense against Iraqi surface-to-air missiles, they carried no "offensive" air-to-ground ordnance with which to strike ground targets in Iraq in response to hostile actions against Coalition aircraft in Iraqi airspace enforcing UNSCR 688.As a result, strike aircraft with offensive ordnance were limited to USAF A-10, F-15E, F-16C, RAF Tornado GR4, and occasionally USMC F/A-18 or AV-8B aircraft based at Ali Al Salem Air Base and Ahmad al-Jaber Air Base in Kuwait, and USN and USMC F-14, F/A-18 and EA-6B aircraft aboard US aircraft carriers and USMC AV-8B aircraft aboard US amphibious assault ships operating in the Persian Gulf.In addition to USAF E-3 AWACS and E-8 J-STARS command & control aircraft and KC-135 air refueling aircraft based in Saudi Arabia, additional USAF KC-10 and KC-135 air refueling aircraft were also based at Al Dhafra Air Base in the UAE, while RAF VC10 K3 refuelers were based at the U.S. Navy's Aviation Support Unit (ASU) at Bahrain International Airport in Bahrain to support these strike aircraft.