WHILE FRENCH AIR Force and Navy Mirage 2000s and Rafales have been well publicized participants in Operation ‘Chammal’, the French air campaign against terrorists of the so-called Islamic State (IS) in Syria and Iraq, these fighter-bombers would not be able to perform nearly as successfully without support from French Naval Aviation (Aéronautique Navale) Atlantique 2 (ATL_2) maritime patrol aircraft.
Designed to fulfill maritime roles including surveillance and antisubmarine warfare, since September 19, 2014 the ATL 2 has had the specific job of providing intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) in support of strike sorties during Operation ‘Chammal’.
At the outset of the operation, the sole French Navy ATL 2 assigned was forward-deployed to Minhad Air Base in the United Arab Emirates. Initially, its main mission was battle damage assessment (BDA) following air strikes against IS by French Air Force Rafale Cs belonging to Escadron de Chasse (EC) 1/7 stationed at Al Dhafra AB in the UAE. However, the aircraft was not only equipped with ISR equipment but also featured modifications to act as a bomber, carrying four 500lb GBU-12 Pave way II laser-guided bombs (LGBs) in its stores bay.
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