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Africa North
RAF gets ready for NFZ action
2011-03-18
RAF ground attack aircraft are ready to help impose a no-fly zone over Libya as ministers ordered defence chiefs to finalise plans enabling Britain to take part immediately in military action against forces loyal to Colonel Gaddafi.

Tornado all-weather attack aircraft, equipped with precision weapons, were almost certain to be the first British assets used in any military operation, officials said. They are based at RAF Lossiemouth in Scotland and RAF Marham in Norfolk.

Though due to phased out under the government's defence their performance has been tested in operations over decades. It was not immediately clear whether they would fly from a military base in southern France or from RAF Akrotiri, in one of Britain's sovereign base areas in Cyprus.

It was also unclear whether Eurofighter Typhoons would take part in an operation. Britain has two ships off the Libyan coast, and Chinook helicopters and early-warning aircraft equipped with long-range radar based in Malta, but would need permission from the Maltese government to use them in action over Libya.

For this reason, it would be easier for British aircraft to be based in Cyprus or France, which also strongly supports a no-fly zone. British forces could also use bases in Egypt if the new government there agreed.
By any chance, do the rebels hold the airport or an airbase near Benghazi? Make things a lot easier...
Britain and France could begin operating a limited no-fly zone over the rebel stronghold of Benghazi with little or no US support, though it may have only a limited impact on Gaddafi's brutal crackdown on the rebels. However, they warned that it would not stop Gaddafi's ground forces, which are leading the assault on the rebels with tanks and artillery.
Correct, to do the latter, as we did in Afghanistan in '01-'02, you'd need air controllers on the ground, and that means special forces to protect the controllers.
A force of six to eight Typhoon fighters could be deployed to patrol over Benghazi, supported by two or three tankers for air-to-air refuelling and Nimrod R1 reconnaissance aircraft, temporarily reprieved by the Ministry of Defence, he said.
Interesting how in just about every action, the Brits do everything on a shoestring yet still manage to get it done.
The Libyan air force might have as few as 40 operational fixed-wing aircraft. Most are Soviet-era, Russian-built fighters that are obsolescent in western terms, although there are also some more modern French Mirage F1s.
Posted by:Steve White

#5  British forces in theater punch well above their weight, when allowed to, despite being poorly equipped / politically supported.
Posted by: lotp   2011-03-18 22:45  

#4  hey- why don't they take that fancy aircraft carrier they have down there and give them a 'whippin
-oh yeah they decommissioned it ...
Posted by: linker   2011-03-18 20:39  

#3  Interesting how in just about every action, the Brits do everything on a shoestring yet still manage to get it done.

Thanks Steve , we do what we can with the tools given to us .
Posted by: Oscar   2011-03-18 14:43  

#2  The Brits do everything on a shoestring because shoestrings are all they have left.
Posted by: rwv   2011-03-18 09:00  

#1  Woudn't it be better to concentrate on defending Britain from Muzzi conquest?
Posted by: g(r)omgoru   2011-03-18 06:43  

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