Discovery of the mixed fighter detachment of Chammal
With their nose pointing upwards, the Rafale Marine are easily distinguishable from their Air Force counterparts. Between two missions, under the hangars of the French projected base (BAP) in the Levant, eight aircraft of two types are currently stationed. Since the beginning of April 2017, for the first time, Rafales de la Marine (12F) have been deployed ashore alongside those of the Air Force. This solution makes it possible to relieve the latter, which has continuously armed the BAP since the end of 2014. It also allows naval aviation fleets to continue to participate in operations, while the "Charles de Gaulle" Unavailable for eighteen months due to its mid-life redesign. Members of the 12F are not the first sailors to have discovered this base in Jordan. An ATL2 has been deployed there for several months. It provides intelligence missions and also strikes.
Rafale M and B.
Four Rafale of the 12F flotilla are now deployed alongside as many two-seater Rafales of the "Gascogne" squadron. The seamen were fully integrated into the BAP detachment, known as the Bombardment Group 43 "Levant". The two variants of the Rafale carry out the same missions. However, they do not operate for the time being on mixed patrols. To carry out their missions, which are mostly close air support, the Rafales take off by patrol of two. Which are made up solely of marine or air. The procedures employed by Naval Aviation are a little different, explains a pilot. Sailors, for example, are accustomed to respecting a strict radio silence indispensable for assault missions at sea. Apart from that, operational cultures are very close and tactics also. Rafale B and M patrols have already had the opportunity to work together.
Every day the Rafales take off to carry out their close support missions to the Iraqi troops fighting against Daech or to intervene in Syria. French aircraft were implicated in 2014 in the battle of Mosul, the crews could see their missions evolve as the fighting moved closer to the urban area. The objective of the French command is to effectively support the fight against Daech, but not at any price. No French or civilian loss is allowed, explains the commander of the BAP. The arming of the devices is adapted to these requirements. Patrols take off with a mixed configuration. One Rafale is equipped with four laser-guided GBU-12 bombs, while the other carries GPS-guided AASMs. Again, the bodies of bombs are variegated. Two AASMs are configured with a smaller military load to limit their effects (BLU-126 "low collateral dam-mages bomb"). This mixing offers several options for the crews, who can thus choose the type of guidance and the military load to optimize the effects of their strikes and avoid the collateral damage. The rockets of the armaments can also be adjusted to, for example, trigger the explosion of the bomb once it has penetrated the ground and, again, limit its effects. The Rafales also carry a Mica missile that could be used for self-defense but is used mainly as an infrared sensor
"Red card Holder".
If strikes are ordered by the air command of the coalition, a French representative may at any time prohibit them if he considers that the context does not correspond to the French rules of engagement. It is said that he takes out the red card ("red card holder"). Once the strike is ordered, the crew searches for the best angle of attack to better control the effects of the bombardment. After the launch of the armaments, the pilots continue to follow the situation and the trajectory of the bomb. One of them said that bombs were diverted during their flight to uninhabited areas because the context had evolved and the risk of reaching civilians had become too great.
Set up since the end of 2014, the BAP is well established. Its size has been optimized to allow the aircraft to carry out their missions and stay alert 24 hours a day. In three hours, a Rafale can be on-site, ready to intervene throughout the theater. Four hundred men and women are deployed to support the aircraft and the men, as well as the protection of the base, which is only 30 km from the Syrian border. This proximity is an asset for air missions. French fighters are much closer to their area of action than when they operate from the United Arab Emirates or the "Charles de Gaulle". Raqqa is a forty minutes flight and Mosul, less than an hour away. Some missions can be carried out without refueling. But the geographical location can also be a weakness in terms of security, because of the proximity of the combat zones. This is why the protective device is progressively strengthened.
Reconnaissance missions.
The Air Force insists on the consistency of the BAP tool. This is reflected in good availability rates and only 1% of the missions requested by the coalition canceled. The devices involved in Chammal benefit from the priority given to operations in terms of logistics and the involvement of mechanics deployed in operation.
Several hundred kilometers from Jordan, the United Arab Emirates air base continues to participate in operations. The seven Rafale C squadron "Provence" participate a little less in the strikes but they are the only ones to implement the Reco NG capability in the framework of Operation Chammal, the pod not having been deployed in Jordan. Reconnaissance missions require lengthy preparation. The pilot must carefully plan his flight to fly in good conditions to areas deemed of interest by the high command. The Reco NG nacelle is programmed and can orient its fixed focal length to the expected zones. The pilot optimizes his altitude and position to obtain the best angle of view. Upon returning from his mission, the Squadron's intelligence unit carries out an extensive analysis, then image-wrapping, which is then sent to a centralized level, which will compare the data collected with other sources.
In the United Arab Emirates, one third of the pilots are deployed over a long period, for two to three years. The others make short stays of two months. If the BAP aircraft in Jordan only carry out operational missions, the Emirates may be involved in training, particularly with local forces. They have significant resources and experience feedback from their involvement in operations in Yemen.
