The advent of routine around-the-clock precision bombing of enemy forces in the Gulf War constituted a new phase in the history of air warfare. These attacks were not classic close air support, or battlefield air interdiction, but, instead, given the level of accomplishment over time, went far beyond the levels of effectiveness traditionally implied by such terms. The vast majority were made in the 39 days prior to the ground operation when the coalition's land forces were, for the most part, waiting for their war to begin. The Iraqi army was, in effect, mortally wounded in this time. These attacks, against Iraq's mechanized formations and artillery, can best be described as a form of strategic attack directed against unengaged but fielded enemy forces, what might be termed DEA: "Degrade Enemy Army." The combination of laser-guided bombs from F-111Fs and F-15E Strike Eagles, together with Maverick missiles using imaging infrared thermal sensors fired by A-10 Thunderbolt IIs and F-16s were devastating, as were laser-guided bombs from British Panavia Tornadoes and Blackburn Buccaneers, and AS-30L laser-guided missiles fired from French Air Force SEPECAT Jaguars. Particularly deadly were F-111F night "tank plinking" strikes using GBU-12 laser-guided bombs. For example, on February 9, in one night of concentrated air attacks, forty F-111Fs destroyed over 100 armored vehicles. Overall, the small 66-plane F-111F force was credited with 1,500 kills of Iraqi tanks and other mechanized vehicles. Air attacks by F-15E's and Marine A-6 Intruders in the easternmost section of the theater averaged over thirty artillery pieces or armored vehicles destroyed per night.