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Subject:
Rafale to see combat in March
Phaid
2/16/2007 11:36:29 AM
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| Here is my tranlation of yesterday's article in Liberation concerning the Rafale's first combat deployment to Afghanistan. Link to follow.
"Baptism of fire for the Rafales. The military is preparing to send five of these combat aircraft to Afghanistan, where they will provide close air support for NATO forces fighting against the Taliban. This will be the first real operational depployment of this new combat aircraft, which recently entered service.
Three Rafale of the armee de l'air will be stationed at the Dushanbe air base in Tajikistan in mid-March. At the same time, two Rafales of the Marine Nationale will join the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle, which is deployed off the coast of Pakistan. These five aircraft will operate over Afghanistan.
The Armee de l'Air and the Marine Nationale are currently in the final stages of trials to permit the Rafale to drop laser-guided weapons. Indeed, in its initial version, and for budgetary reasons, the aircraft lacked this capability, which is nonetheless indispensable in all modern conflicts. Each Rafale can carry a payload of up to six 250kg (500 lb) bombs, but the target on the ground must be illuminated by another aircraft, either a Mirage 2000 or a Super Etendard.
These air strike operations are in no way hypothetical. Since 2002, French aircraft have regularly participated in offensive missions in Afthanistan. With the declining situationon the ground, the Armee de l'Air has thus dropped 25 bombs since May of 2006. The last such attack took place Tuesday, with a Mirage 2000D dropping bombs at the request of Canadian special forces.
For several months, a rivalry has existed between the Marine Nationale and the Armee de l'Air, each hoping to be the first to use the Rafale in combat. In the end, they will do it jointly.
At Dassault, this deployment is being celebrated, as in the eyes of the manufacturer it should allow them to convince potential clients to buy the fighter-bomber. After several defeats (Netherlands, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, and Singapore), Dassault is hoping for sales in Switzerland, Greece, India, Morocco, and Libya." |
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