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Monday, April 09, 2007

Rafale F2 Makes Its Combat Debut Over Afghanistan


Dassault Rafale Carrier Operations

Under low clouds, a two-seater French Air Force Rafale strike jet armed with four U.S.-built smart bombs took off April 1 from the airport here, headed for Afghanistan.

The Air Force is flying the new F2 fighter-bomber version of the Rafale from this Central Asian republic, joining other coalition planes in providing 24-hour cover for Afghan, NATO and U.S. soldiers fighting Taliban and al-Qaida insurgents on Afghanistan’s plains and mountains.

Two or three times a day, a tandem team of Rafale and Mirage planes takes off from the single rudimentary runway to fly an hour to reach their patrol zone. Once on station, they perform a variety of missions, including reconnaissance, low-level passes to deter and disperse enemy forces, or if called upon, bomb drops. Missions last two to six hours.

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