Breaking news
French Armed Forces continue military actions against pro-Gaddafi regime troops.
| 2011
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World
Air Force News - France |
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| French Armed Forces continue military actions against pro-Gaddafi regime troops | |||
Since
August 18, 2011, the French military has provided nearly 150 flight sorties,
of which more than 65% are strike missions. After nuclear aircraft carrier
Charles de Gaulle and its air group got pulled from the operation, France
continues to provide about a third of ground attacks missions. |
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 French Air Force Dassault Rafale B armed with 6 Sagem's AASM GPS bombs (foreground) and Dassault Mirage 2000D equiped with Thales' Damocles laser designation pod and 2 GBU-12 laser guided bombs (background). |
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{youtube}Bzvc-eKxzbY{/youtube} In Sicily, Sigonella air base is still in full swing: the French Rafale pilots prepare for a reconnaissance mission. Then, the photos and intelligence gathered during the flight are analyzed. (© TF1) |
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Between
August 18, 2011 6:00am and August 25, 2011 6:00am, France has made: - 96 ground attack sorties (with Rafale, Mirage 2000-D, Mirage 2000-N and Mirage F1); - 32 reconnaissance missions (with Rafale, ATL 2, Harfang UAV); - 7 air traffic control sorties (with E3F AWACS); - 7 refuelling missions (with C135); - 6 missions with the airmobile group (with Gazelle and Tigre helicopters from Tonnerre BPC) |
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 French Army Eurocopter Tigre and Gazelle helicopters getting ready on French Navy's Mistral BPC deck for a night mission over libyan territory. |
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 French Army Eurocopter Tigre, Puma and Gazelle helicopters inside French Navy's Mistral BPC deck. |
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 French Air Force Eurocopter Caracal (EC775) Combat Seach and Rescue (CSAR) helicopters getting ready on French Navy's Mistral BPC deck. |
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| In addition, since
August 18, the French naval and air strikes have neutralized thirty targets,
including: - More than two dozen military vehicles and weapons (tanks, armored vehicles, artillery and multiple rocket launchers), mainly in the regions of Brega, and Tripoli; - A dozen military infrastructure (buildings, military posts), mainly in the regions of Brega and Tripoli. |
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 Chevalier Paul Destroyer off the libyan coast. |
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 Chevalier Paul Destroyer firing at targets on the libyan coast with its two 76mm OTO Melara guns. |
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 The crew at "Poste de Combat" (Action stations in Royal Navy, General Quarters in US Navy). |
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Since
August 24, the command of Task Force 473 is provided by the Contre-Amiral
(rear admiral) Dupuis who succeeded to Contre-Amiral (rear admiral) Coindreau.
During this week, the Chevalier Paul air defense destroyer was relieved
by the La Fayette multi-role stealth frigate.
In addition, an Harfang UAV was deployed on the Sigonella air base where five French Air Force Rafale fighters are already in place. The UAV made its first operational mission for the benefit of the coalition on Aug. 24. |
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  French Air Force Harfang UAV coming back from a mission over Libya. |
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