On June 10, 2020, an air strike hit the Turkish MIM 23 Hawk and the Koral interception systems at Al Watiya air base in northwestern Libya. There is no clear indication and much more evidence of which country was hit.
The reason for the bombing
The Turkish involvement, and even more so the Turkish presence of armed forces in Libya, is very troubling to both Egypt and France, which are constantly publicly criticizing Turkey. At the same time, Egypt has threatened direct military intervention if Turkish-backed jihadist forces (GNA) advance on Sirte.
by T.C.
©The law of intellectual property is prohibited in any way unlawful use/appropriation of this article, with heavy civil and criminal penalties for the infringer.
Photo by the website www.aljazeera.com
Egypt, and the government of Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, is rightly afraid that if Turkish-backed jihadist forces prevail in the Libyan civil war, then the fanatical Islamic movement Muslim Brotherhood will be attacked and find themselves in the executive office of Egypt.
On the other hand, France, due to its geopolitical interests in the Eastern Mediterranean, due to its oil and gas extraction contracts and always having in its geopolitical sphere of influence other EU member states such as Italy, Greece and Cyprus, considers it unthinkable to allow Turkey to do what it wants in Libya and to have a military-air-naval base opposite the French and Italian coasts equally.
In addition, the predominance of Turkish-backed GNA forces will sooner or later create terrorist bases in northern Libya for attacks in France and given the strong Islamic element living in French territory.
How the French Rafale fighters could deal such a blow
The French Rafale C fighters would be impossible to take off from the South of France or the island of Corsica and move within the Italian FIR unhindered and unnoticed, until they reached firing range and had the Al Watiya base within range of their weapons.
Photo by Author: Calliopejen, Source: Image BlankMap-Africa.png
licensed Public Domain
But that is not the case if French fighter jets have taken off from a French base in N’Djamena, the capital of Chad, south of Libya. Only from this base could the French fighters fly unhindered and undisturbed to the Al Watiya base in northwestern Libya.
The same is true if French fighters flew through the southern part of Egypt but this scenario has the least chance.
Looking at the map, we see the great distance between Chad’s capital, N’Djamena, from Al Watiya base. At the same time, however, all this huge space is deserted, uninhabited and there is no coverage by political or military radar and there are no military forces.
France has extensive experience in military operations against jihadists in Niger, Mali, and Chad. Both Rafale C fighters and the French Air Force’s Mirage 2000D have from time to time carried out operations in this part of the world, which is why there is adequate infrastructure there for the permanent or non-hosting of French fighters.
So, we see that the French fighters could take off from the French base of N’Djanema and hit, by air supply, the airport of Al Watiya without anyone noticing them.
The capabilities of the French Rafale C fighters allow them to fly at an exceptionally low height above the ground with absolute safety and due to their state-of-the-art radar. In addition, they can hit up to six ground targets with guided missiles at the same time.
The useful-effective range of these smart weapons ranges from 15km to 75km and depending on the altitude of the flight followed by the fighter that launches them.
Conclusions
1. Egypt and the UAE have no experience with such air-strikes.
2. The Russians do not have the ability to hit up to six targets in a single attack. The experience in the war in Syria shows that Russian attacks were carried out from great heights, using guided weapons. The videos released by the Russians of such attacks show this conclusion, because the target is seen almost vertically from above.
3. In the videos of the recent attack on the Turkish Anti-Aircraft Systems, the angle is completely different. The targets are sideways, and the angle of attack of the weapons is small. The blows are lateral and not vertical, like the Russian blows in Syria.
4. The United States knows who is responsible for the attack. They do not reveal because they will cause it rifts between NATO member states and perhaps the disintegration of NATO, splitting NATO member countries into two camps with the US as arbitrator.
5. If the Russians did the blow, the United States would scream at the revelations to cause coldness and rift in relations between Turkey and Russia.
6. It is impossible for France to leave unanswered the serious challenge of the Turks who targeted a French frigate “Courbet” with an offensive maneuver during a NATO exercise in the Mediterranean obliged France to withdraw its fleet from the specific NATO naval exercise.
7. Al Watiya Airport targets are distinguished by satellite imagery. Only the French and the Russians have this opportunity. Certainly, with 100% certainty, both Egypt and the UAE do not have this opportunity.
We therefore conclude that France has struck at the Turkish base of Al Watiya, as a warning to Turkey that if it continues to provoke, tougher responses will come from France.
