The “Charles De Gaulle” sends its Rafale to strike Daesh. An act of naval diplomacy also
(B2) Rafale planes on board the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle carried out a first strike on Iraq, the French Ministry of Defense announced on Wednesday (25 February). " During this planned strike mission, the patrol destroyed a camp used by Daesh to train fighters in the area of Al Quaim, not far from the Syrian border”.
The "Gaullian" hunters will therefore not have waited long before taking action. The only French aircraft carrier is, in fact, hard at work in the Arab-Persian Gulf, with its carrier battle group, in Operation Chammal, since Monday (February 23).
Containment phase complete, move on to recapture phase
For the French Minister of Defense, who came to greet the sailors of Charles de Gaulle on Monday, this " air support for the defensive and offensive operations of our Iraqi and Kurdish allies (1) first made it possible to stem the dynamic of Daesh's territorial conquest, and thus stabilize the front lines”. This first objective is “achieved”. But “the threat persists. (..) Winning battles is rarely enough to break the aggressiveness of such a determined opponent. " The mission of the military is therefore now " to allow Iraqi forces to restore and control their territory ". This goes - according to the minister - by " the intelligence that we bring to our allies, the air support of our fighters over Iraq, but also the strengthening of the military capacities of local actors”.
3200 men mobilized
Reinforcement after reinforcement, the French commitment in the Gulf against Daesh (the organization of the Islamic state) has, in fact, "thickened". All combined - airmen, sailors (on other ships), and forces on land that ensure the training of "Iraqi forces and Peschmerga" (1). The operation currently mobilizes 3200 soldiers. Which makes it the largest French deployment in OPEX (we are not far from the "4000 +" engaged in Afghanistan). At the air level, in addition to the machines present at Charles de Gaulle, France has committed 12 Air Force fighter planes (six Rafale and six Mirage 2000D), 1 C-135 FR tanker plane, 1 patrol plane maritime Atlantic 2.
A Franco-British naval group
The naval action group is made up of an onboard staff, the Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier, the onboard air group (12 Rafale Marine, 9 Super Étendard Modernisés and 1 Hawkeye), the air defense frigate Chevalier Paul , the tanker Meuse and a nuclear attack submarine, which acts as a "precursor". It should also be noted the presence in this group of a British building, the anti-submarine frigate HMS Kent, which is a fairly concrete illustration of the Lancaster House agreements, allowing the British not to lose control in matters of aircraft carriers, the time to find their flagship.
A strong political and military signal...
« This is a strong political signal, which reinforces France's determination to stop this barbarism committed by Daesh. underlined, on the aircraft carrier, the French Minister of Defense, Jean-Yves Le Drian. " The carrier battle group constitutes a rare capability in the world, and, undeniably, a technological showcase as much as a tool of power. Wherever you sail, your presence is never harmless; it shows our strength; it is the bearer of alliances and cooperation. »
... but also an act of naval diplomacy
Leaving his outfit as head of operations, to put on that of sales representative for the French military industry, the minister also took the opportunity to send a special message to " our UAE, Qatari and Saudi partners who are our staunchest allies in this region of the world and India. " In a few weeks, a major meeting also awaits you with India, a major power in Asia, with whom we have been able to implement a high-quality strategic partnership. By conducting the “Varuna 2015” exercise, you will be our best ambassadors he confides to the sailors of the Charles de Gaulle. " During your interactions with our allies, I want you to live up to the partnerships that our country has been able to weave and wishes to develop even more”. From the almost complete « naval diplomacy » in the purest style...
(NGV)
(1) One can notice the official terminology which now always carefully distinguishes the Kurds from the other Iraqis, as if there was already in fact an autonomous Kurdistan, and almost independent of Baghdad.
