A-10 anti-tank plane  ALSO U.S. names suspected Serb war criminals U.S. to receive first Yugo refugees on Friday NATO claims 'breakthrough' against Serb troops NATO keeps up diplomatic pressure despite overtures from Belgrade The Geneva Conventions: Prisoners of war Yugoslavian borders close, refurees' fate 'alarming' Kosovar refugees wants to go back home RELATED VIDEO CNN's Jim Hill, Ed Garsten and Tony Clark check in on the soldiers' hometowns, where family and friends hope for their safe return (April 7) Real 28K 80K Windows Media 28K 80K

April 7, 1999
Web posted at: 10:26 p.m. EDT (2226 GMT)

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- As NATO steps up the pace of its air attacks on Yugoslavia, the Pentagon disclosed Wednesday that tank-killing A-10 planes have been used to attack ground forces for the first time.

Also, for the second day in a row, planes from the USS Theodore Roosevelt, an aircraft carrier brought into the Adriatic Sea to beef up NATO firepower participated in raids over Yugoslavia.

An unmanned U.S. spy plane, a Hunter UAV, went down over Kosovo and is presumed to have been shot down, although evidence is "not conclusive," NATO officials said.

As one military official told CNN, "This is why we put UAVs in high-risk areas."

The Hunter, equipped with electro-optical and thermal imaging sensors, provides real-time intelligence to commanders on the ground. It costs $300,000 to $350,000.

Among the latest targets of the NATO air assault have been troop barracks, such as the Vrane Army Garrison in Serbia that the Pentagon says was severely damaged by laser-guided bombs.

But the big challenge now for U.S. and NATO forces is to find Yugoslav forces, who according to the Pentagon are hunkering down and hiding their tanks and artillery pieces in villages near churches and innocent civilians.

"It's not open terrain. It's not open desert. There aren't clear lines of where the bad guys are and the friendlies are," said Maj. Gen. Charles Wald, vice director of planning for the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

The weapon best suited for this kind of close-in combat -- the all-weather Apache attack helicopter -- is still weeks away from deployment in the Yugoslav theater. Pentagon sources say military planners are warning that it could be the end of the month before the Apaches and their support troops are in place in the mountains of northern Albania.

While some reports suggest that NATO's top commander, Gen. Wesley Clark, is angry about the delay, Pentagon officials insist that his request was approved within days of being received late last week.

"Whatever General Clarke feels he needs in order to carry out this campaign successfully, he will receive," said Defense Secretary William Cohen.

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