The French defense ministry announced last night that its air force attacked the capital of Isis, the city of Raqqa, in Syria. Twenty sites have been hit including a command post and a training camp. The attack was carried out in response to the Paris attack and the claim of the Islamic State.
The raids of this night are not remotely comparable to those carried out, for example, last October 8 in Syria. Of the 1.772 coalition attacks conducted in Syria, only 146 were carried out by US partners. It is not clear how many of these attacks were carried on Raqqa, capital of the Islamic State, but according to the Pentagon, the last French raid in the main stronghold of ISIS took place just last 8 October.
To understand the extent of the attack conducted this night, we must analyze the last one performed by the French in Raqqa. The 8 last October, two Flurry they bombed an Isis training camp. In fact, that attack was aimed at the elimination of Salim Benghalem, one of the most sought-after jihadists in the country and considered the person responsible for the military indoctrination of the French arrived in Syria. In the past few weeks, the coalition's effort has concentrated in northern Iraq, in support of Kurdish forces to free the city of Sinjar and cut off supply routes between Raqqa and Iraq. This night, however, was a real bombing mission.
We know that the French have deployed on the bases in Jordan and the United Arab Emirates 12 Flurry, Atlantique 2 and three aircraft tanks KC 135. Precisely from these bases, according to the Ministry of Defense, France launched the raid on Raqqa.
I Flurry they were equipped with the new BLU-126, a "low-risk" 250 kg bomb specifically designed for use in high-density areas. The intelligent system guarantees, with its smaller explosion range, a relative certainty of striking, exclusively, the chosen target. The training also took part in this night's raid Mirage 2000N e 2000D already deployed in support of the coalition.
Above Raqqa, since June last year, surveillance (and armed) drones are constantly flying, which on the one hand guarantee a good level of intelligence, but on the other do not guarantee a classic bombardment, like the one that occurred a few hours ago. The French themselves, until a few days ago, considered Raqqa the ultimate target to hit. The Paris bombing changed everything. Paris has decided to increase its air component.
In support of land-based fighters, there is also the Charles de Gaulle with its 12 Flurry and the nine Super Etendard (out of a total of 40 aircraft). There de Gaulle it is the only western aircraft carrier (excluding the US Navy) to have catapults on the bridge. This means that the planes can be launched at full load, maximizing their autonomy and firepower. And in Jordan twenty more Mirages are coming.
The French also have a missile frigate in the Persian Gulf Cassard which will be used to coordinate air raids on Syria. Despite the Coalition air attacks, the Islamic State has never been paralyzed. The French, however, can do something that until yesterday no one could (or wanted to) do: attack the capital of the reign of terror in Syria. Engaged in Iraq, the Coalition has "set aside" Syria. The massacre in Paris has changed everything.
If France decides to use both the airplanes of the Charles de Gualle that those based on land in the Region would have an air force numerically higher than that of the United States (after the withdrawal of their only aircraft carrier in the area). And those French planes have already proven to be much more aggressive than the classic Coalition raids.
(photo: Ministère de la Défense)
