Air Power, Insurgency and the “War on Terror” - Prof. Joel Hayward's ...

Neglected Contributors: The Continental European <strong>Air</strong> <strong>Power</strong>s
operating off <strong>the</strong> carrier Garibaldi, <strong>the</strong>se aircraft supported US Navy fighter bombers
orbiting over K<strong>and</strong>ahar <strong>and</strong> Tora Bora to attack any al Qaeda targets that might emerge. 575
On <strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r h<strong>and</strong>, six Mirage 2000 D toge<strong>the</strong>r with two tanker aircraft were deployed
over 6,000 kilometres from France to Manas, Kyrgyzstan, on 27 February 2002. On 2
March, <strong>the</strong>se aircraft, alongside sixteen French Navy Super Etendards, took part in
Operation Anaconda. 576 The American air component comm<strong>and</strong>er, General Moseley,
argued that, given <strong>the</strong> ferocity of <strong>the</strong> fighting on <strong>the</strong> ground, he immediately had to
engage <strong>the</strong> French Mirage aircraft, without giving <strong>the</strong>m time to acclimatise. The French
detachment, consisting of fighter bombers <strong>and</strong> tanker aircraft, was <strong>the</strong> first to be based
at Manas, <strong>and</strong> General Moseley acknowledged France’s role in establishing a new front
for operations over Afghanistan. He considered it particularly important to complement
air power projected from aircraft carriers with a l<strong>and</strong>-based approach. In June 2002,
<strong>the</strong> French Mirage aircraft in Manas were joined by USMC F/A-18D Hornets. Both in
<strong>the</strong> air <strong>and</strong> on <strong>the</strong> ground, co-operation between <strong>the</strong> two contingents was very tight.
For instance, French C-135 FR tanker aircraft refuelled <strong>the</strong> American fighter bombers
operating from Manas. Up to autumn 2002, <strong>the</strong> American <strong>and</strong> French air forces were <strong>the</strong>
only ones amongst <strong>the</strong> twelve coalition countries that patrolled over Afghanistan day
<strong>and</strong> night. Missions lasted between four to seven hours. 577 Within seven months, French
Mirages logged 4,500 flying hours <strong>and</strong> 900 sorties, destroying or neutralising thirty-two
targets. 578 Over a protracted period of time, French aircrews covered vast distances in
each sortie.
In <strong>the</strong> ensuing years, <strong>the</strong> French <strong>Air</strong> Force has continued to deploy combat aircraft to
Central Asia. 579 In <strong>the</strong> first half of 2007, <strong>the</strong> French <strong>Air</strong> Force deployed Rafale combat
aircraft for <strong>the</strong> first time to Central Asia for operations over Afghanistan. Their base of
operations is <strong>the</strong> capital of Tajikistan, Dushanbe, <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong>ir missions encompass tactical
reconnaissance, low-level passes to deter <strong>and</strong> disperse enemy forces or to provide close
air support. On 1 April 2007, for instance, French <strong>Air</strong> Force fighter bombers responded
to a call by US troops for air strikes against insurgents 200 kilometres east of Kabul. The
request was picked up <strong>and</strong> executed by a Rafale <strong>and</strong> a Mirage 2000 D, which each dropped
one GBU-12 bomb. Recently, also French Navy Rafales operating from <strong>the</strong> aircraft carrier
Charles de Gaulle have contributed to <strong>the</strong> fighting on <strong>the</strong> ground. On 28 March, for
instance, a Navy Rafale dropped two GBU-12 precision guided bombs in a close air
support mission for Dutch Army troops. 580
French participation in <strong>the</strong> early phase of Operation Enduring Freedom was not limited
to combat, reconnaissance <strong>and</strong> tanker aircraft. The French transport comm<strong>and</strong> very early
established an air-bridge to Central Asia <strong>and</strong> was amongst <strong>the</strong> first to conduct nightflights
into Mazar-i-sharif under extremely adverse circumstances. 581
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<strong>Air</strong> <strong>Power</strong>, <strong>Insurgency</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong> “War on Terror”