ForgotPassword?
Sign Up
Search this Topic:
Forum Jump
Posts: 1415
Member Since: Tue, 19-Apr-05
Apr 11 07 7:07 PM
Quote:Rafale F2 Makes Its Combat Debut Over AfghanistanBy PIERRE TRAN, DUSHANBE, TajikistanUnder low clouds, a two-seater French Air Force Rafale strike jet armed with four U.S.-built smart bombs took off April 1 from the airport here, headed for Afghanistan.The Air Force is flying the new F2 fighter-bomber version of the Rafale from this Central Asian republic, joining other coalition planes in providing 24-hour cover for Afghan, NATO and U.S. soldiers fighting Taliban and al-Qaida insurgents on Afghanistans plains and mountains.Two or three times a day, a tandem team of Rafale and Mirage planes takes off from the single rudimentary runway to fly an hour to reach their patrol zone. Once on station, they perform a variety of missions, including reconnaissance, low-level passes to deter and disperse enemy forces, or if called upon, bomb drops. Missions last two to six hours.French pilots say they could face Stinger shoulder-launched missiles the United States supplied to mujahadin guerrillas who fought the Russian Army in the 1980s. A Stinger goes for about $100,000 in the market, a French pilot said.They are almost used for barter, they are so common, a pilot said.On April 1, a two-plane element responded to a call by U.S. troops for air strikes against guerrillas moving among mountain caves 200 kilometers east of Kabul. The request was picked up and executed by a Rafale and a Mirage, which each dropped one GBU-12 bomb, French Air Force Col. Pierre-Jean Dupont told journalists.It was not the first shot fired in anger from a Rafale. That occurred on March 28, when a French Navy Rafale F2 flying from the Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier dropped two GBU 12 smart bombs in close air support for Dutch troops, French officers said.The Afghan air campaign will likely be a boon for Dassault Aviation, because it allows sales executives to tout the Rafale as combat proven.Coalition OpsFrance, which has flown aircraft as part of the Afghanistan campaign since 2002, dispatched the F2s in reponse to U.S. officials demands for greater military commitment from allies in Afghani-stan, made during NATOs Riga summit in November.Three Air Force Rafale F2 aircraft arrived here March 12 and were flying two days later, alongside three Mirage 2000D strike fighters.The French air command has been based at Bagram in southern Afghani-stan, where it supported about 200 French special operations troops who helped U.S. forces hunt al-Qaida fighters in the mountains on the Pakistan border. Since those troops withdrew in January, the aircraft have been more closely integrated into other parts of the allied operation, and the command center is slated to move to Kabul.Today, the aircraft fly close air support for the Kabul-based International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and the U.S. Enduring Freedom operation, Dupont said.The French aircraft are tasked by the NATO Combined Air Operations Center at El Udeid, Qatar, and once on station are on call for the Air Support Coordinator Center, based at ISAF headquarters, Kabul.We have been put to the disposal of the coalition, Air Force Col. Denis Kuntz said here. We have all the systems to be interoperable.French pilots operate under rules of engagement set by their joint chiefs. A decision to drop bombs is at the final discretion of the pilot and is taken if there is no doubt of identity and no danger to civilians and friendly forces.The Rafale is equipped with the Link 16 tactical datalink, which allows coalition aircraft to exchange information.Allied air assets include U.S. F-15 fighters, Dutch F-16s, British Harrier jump jets, carrier-based F/A-18s, KC-135 air tankers, C-17 cargo aircraft, helicopters and gunships.The Rafale deployment is part of the French Serpentaire air operation, an air wing supported by three C-135 aerial tankers based at Manas, Kyrgyzstan, where the United States maintains a large tanker fleet and C-17s. France also has two C-160 Transall transports and in December sent two Special Operations EC 725 Caracal helicopters.The Serpentaire operation includes three French Navy Rafale F2s, nine Rafale F1 fighters and 16 modernized Super Etendard fighter-bombers, and two Hawkeye early warning aircraft operating from the Charles de Gaulle, stationed in the Indian Ocean.While the U.S. carrier John C. Stennis is standing off Iran, the Charles de Gaulle is the only coalition carrier supporting the Afghan campaign.F1 to F2The conversion of Rafale from an F1 air superiority fighter to an F2 fighter-bomber is the result of a four-month crash program led by the Dlgation Gnrale pour lArmement (DGA) procurement agency, DGA official Nicolas Hu said.Because Safran was late with the AASM guided smart bomb, a snap decision was taken to fit the Rafale with the 500-pound GBU-12, a Raytheon Paveway 2 bomb, which the Air Force already owned.The F2 entered service June 27 with the 1/17 Provence fighter squadron, based at Saint-Dizier, France.Integrating a new weapon would normally take a year and a half to two years, Hu said.After DGA placed the order with Dassault in November, it cost 5 million euros ($6.7 million) to adapt the aircraft to drop the GBU-12, then perform aerodynamic and drop tests at the DGA Cazaux test center, Hu said.The F2s can carry six bombs, but the pilots are flying with four weapons as a compromise to fuel economy. Thats triple the two GBU-12s carried by the Mirage 2000D, pilot Lt. Louis Pena said.The Rafale is also slated to be fitted with the 720-pound GBU-22.The upgrade will help Dassaults export-marketing effort; many foreign buyers are looking for a multirole aircraft, not just an interceptor.Pilots say the Rafales Link 16, OSF forward-looking optronic search and track, and RBE2 electronic radar combine to give a better picture of what is in the air, especially useful in finding a refueling tanker in bad visibility.The Mirage 2000D flies with a laser pod designator to light up the target for the Rafale, using a PDL TV for day use and PDL CT for night. The planned Rafale F3 will be fitted with the all-weather, day-and-night Damocles reconnaissance pod from Thales.The BaseThe French aircraft fly from a small self-contained base at the commercial airport here under a cooperation agreement with the Tajik government.Defense Minister Michle Alliot-Maries nine visits to the base in the last five years shows the importance France attaches to this small air detachment its toehold in Central Asia.The Rafales will be here for another four months, but the Serpentaire mission is planned to last the whole year, so there is a potential open commitment. Some 45 ground crew service the Rafale and make up the complement of some 370 base personnel.Air detachment members live in rented villas in Dushanbe, and the base employs 72 local Tajik staff. A chartered Ilyushin-76 makes monthly supply runs from Chateauroux in central France. The meals in the mess are simple and copious, and the personnel eat with disposable plastic cutlery.France has agreed to spend 17 million euros to improve the airport in the next three years, modernizing runway, control tower and related facilities. The base costs 2.2 million euros a year to run.The French personnel also engage in civil-military cooperation programs, working with local schools and civic institutions.Elsewhere at the airport, Russia has stationed Su-25 fighters, and there is talk of sending the Su-27 here.
Share This