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French Rafale fighter with SCALP missile have destroyed a missile production site of IS in Syria 10401161.
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Defence & Security News - France
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| French Rafale fighter with SCALP missile have destroyed a missile production site of IS in Syria. | |||
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The French military says its warplanes have destroyed a site in Syria used by Islamic State extremists to produce missiles and store weapons. The Defense Ministry said in a statement Sunday, January 4, 2015, that the overnight airstrikes targeted a site east of Aleppo, in an operation conducted by Rafale fighter jets using SCALP cruise missiles.
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 French Air Force Rafale fighter ready for take-off to perform mission in Syria. |
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Storm Shadow is a British, French and Italian air-launched cruise missile, manufactured by MBDA. Storm Shadow is the British name for the weapon; in French service it is called SCALP EG (Système de Croisière Autonome à Longue Portée – Emploi Général, meaning General Purpose Long Range Standoff Cruise Missile). The SCALP carries a single HE penetrator warhead, making it a far more versatile system than the submunitions carried by the APACHE. Additionally, the range for the SCALP/Storm Shadow is 250 to 400 km — significantly further than the APACHE’s 140 km.
France joined the U.S.-led coalition against Islamic State extremists in Iraq in 2014 and expanded its operations to Syria in September. French warplanes intensified military action against IS targets after the extremist group claimed responsibility for attacks in Paris on Nov. 13 that killed 130 people.
In September 2015, The French military has carried out its first airstrikes against ISIS in Syria. The first French strikes of 2016 were carried out by two Mirage 2000s around 2:00 am (0000 GMT), according to a military source on the base. Two other jets took off from the Jordanian base Friday morning to serve as aerial support for Kurdish peshmerga forces battling IS around Sinjar, the northern Iraqi town that was cleared of the jihadists in November, the military source said. |
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