I imagine they are talking E-3 AWACS and E-2 Hawkeyes. Maybe Joint STARS too?
Perhaps they’re speaking of reconnaissance UAVs such as Global Hawks or DarkStars.
Here is a post from today’s AOL News regarding the use of air power by Kaddafi. I sure hope someone acts soon to help.
More like RC-135 and EP-3 SIGINT missions...they’ve been flying missions in the Med for years, out of RAF Mildenhall (USAF) and Souda Bay, Crete (USN). Just a matter of increasing the frequency of the missions.
Joint STARS would be marginally useful in this type of conflict, fought mostly by small units. AWACS could be used to monitor Libyan Air Force activity, although tracking attack helos at low altitude is more difficult. Global Hawk and U-2s are probably providing much of the tactical imagery coverage.