[Photo] Rafale multi-role combat planes conduct first French air strike in Iraq

The French Air Force has conducted the first air strike on a terrorist target in Iraq.

Two Rafales, one C-135FR Tanker were involved in a 7-hour mission from Al Dhafra to Iraq (1,700 kilometers) to destroy an ISIS  target in northern Iraq on Sept. 19.

Four GBU-12 LGB (Laser-Guided Bombs) were dropped by the two multi-role planes to hit a munition and fuel depot near the town of Zumar.

The target was obviously destroyed during this first (symbolic) mission that marked the beginning of the involvement of the French tactical planes in the air strikes against ISIS militants. Until today, the Rafale had been involved in reconnaissance missions.

In 2011, a French air strike conducted by a package which included Rafale jets opened the Libya Air War.

Image credit: French MoD

Related articles

• [Photo] French Rafale jets conduct first reconnaissance mission over Iraq
• The U.S. forces that could be used to strike ISIS in Iraq and Syria
• French Rafale “omnirole” fighter jets join air strikes in Mali. With brand new weapons.
• [Photo] French Rafale damages Refueling Probe while taking fuel from U.S. KC-135 tanker over Mali
• Rare video shows F-22 Raptor shot down by the French Rafale in mock air-to-air combat
• French Air War in Mali: some stunning air-to-air pictures
• [Video] U.S. tanker refuels French Rafale combat planes over Mali

About David Cenciotti

WebsiteFacebookTwitterLinkedIn instagram

David Cenciotti is a journalist based in Rome, Italy. He is the Founder and Editor of “The Aviationist”, one of the world’s most famous and read military aviation blogs. Since 1996, he has written for major worldwide magazines, including Air Forces Monthly, Combat Aircraft, and many others, covering aviation, defense, war, industry, intelligence, crime and cyberwar. He has reported from the U.S., Europe, Australia and Syria, and flown several combat planes with different air forces. He is a former 2nd Lt. of the Italian Air Force, a private pilot and a graduate in Computer Engineering. He has written five books and contributed to many more ones.