combat aircraft

F

RANCE HAS MAINTAINED a

quiet, yet important, counter-

insurgency operation in Africa’s

Sahel region since August 2014

under Opération ‘Barkhane’.

Around 3,000 French troops are

dispersed in  ve countries that are

former French colonies in the region

— Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania

and Niger. The French Air Force (Armée

de l’Air) has been kept extremely busy

since it  rst arrived at Niamey in Niger

and created its Base Aérienne Projetée

(BAP) — forward operating base —

adjacent to the city’s airport.

Since 2014, this has evolved into a

thriving austere base, with new taxiways

and operations buildings. Today it houses

a sizeable force of tactical transport

aircraft, tankers, unmanned aircraft and

 ghters. The French Navy (Marine

Nationale) is also present with a Dassault

Atlantique 2 on station, while French

Army Light Aviation (Aviation Légère de

l’Armée de Terre, ALAT) helicopters arrive

via air to be reassembled and  own out

to forward bases between Gao and Mali

as ground operations show no sign of

abating. In fact, the level of activity here

means Niamey is the largest French

military deployment.

Niamey essentially operates like a

commercial hub. Personnel, materiel and

supplies arrive from France on both civil

This image:

A Mirage 2000D

is prepared for an

evening mission

at Niamey.

Below right: A

Mirage 2000C

pilot checks

his clutch of

GBU-12s.

http://www.combataircraft.net // September 2018 83

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