By SUSAN SEVAREID
Associated Press Writer

ABOARD THE USS ENTERPRISE - A new flexibility in the air has helped U.S. pilots damage the Taliban military by taking quick action against targets as they emerge, the air wing commander of the USS Enterprise said Thursday night.

Capt. David Mercer spoke of pilots often leaving the aircraft carrier in the Arabian Sea without specific missions, instead receiving images, coordinates and target descriptions while in the air _ something he described as a "tremendous capability."

"That way, we have the ability of re-striking emerging targets from an airborne platform," Mercer, 45, of Prospect Park, Pa., said as the air campaign against suspected terrorist targets entered its fifth night.

"I think we've significantly decreased the capability of our adversary's military," he said in his first comments to reporters since U.S.-led strikes began Sunday night.

Mercer attributed the new flexibility of this campaign to several factors. "The communications are better, the training we have received has allowed us to be able to be better and the weaponry we have is much more precise," he said.

Most of the crew of the Enterprise cannot be fully identified, but under the military's rules for covering the operation, commanding officers can decide for themselves. Mercer has been the only one willing to use his full name.

The air campaign has done significant damage and "has not throttled back," he said. He wouldn't say how many bombs had been dropped, but said it had remained fairly constant since after the first night.

"There are still targets there," he added.

Pilots have reported differing levels of anti-aircraft fire, but several who have flown in Kosovo and Iraq have said the Taliban air defense system is far weaker than in previous operations. Mercer said system was not sophisticated and estimated that its threat was minimal.

The Taliban's air force had consisted of about 15 old Soviet-era jet fighters that had seen action exclusively in a bombing role in recent years. Mercer said he was unaware of any enemy planes spotted in the skies during the operation.

"Just on the ground," he said, then smiled. "Those were mostly in pieces."

Beyond strikes on ground targets, U.S. military planes have been patrolling the skies to watch for enemy threats and escorting planes dropping humanitarian aid. Mercer would not say whether the mission of warplanes from the Enterprise would shift to more of a patrol function.

Pilots have spoken of unusually lengthy flights _ spending up to eight hours in the air and repeatedly refueling while airborne. Mercer said lengthy flights require greater concentration but do not affect the outcome of the mission.

"The actual part of the flight where you're delivering the ordnance does not change," he said.

To avoid fatigue, he said schedules are monitored to avoid back-to-back sorties. F-14s and F/A-18s catapulting off the Enterprise have flown 65 to 75 sorties a night.