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Operation Serval: 3,000 flight hours for French Navy ATL2 MPA over Mali

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Naval Forces News - France
 
 
 
Operation Serval: 3,000 flight hours for French Navy ATL2 MPA over Mali
 
The French Navy announced that its ATL 2 Maritime Patrol Aircraft belonging to 23F and 21F units deployed for operation in Mali just passed the 3,000 flight hours. This achievement coincides with the 1 anniversary of Operation Serval, the French military operation in Mali. Since the beginning and without interruption the "maritime patrol" component of the French Navy is fully involved above the Malian theater.
     
The French Navy announced that its ATL 2 Maritime Patrol Aircraft belonging to 23F and 21F units deployed for operation in Mali just passed the 3,000 flight hours. This achievement coincides with the 1 anniversary of Operation Serval, the French military operation in Mali. Since the beginning and without interruption the "maritime patrol" component of the French Navy is fully involved above the Malian theater.
French Navy ATL 2 Maritime Patrol Aircraft (and Air Force Mirage 2000 in the background) over Mali
Picture: French Navy
     

Initially dedicated to surveillance operations in the Sahel region and a permanently pre-positioned in Dakar (Senegal), French Navy ATL2 were involved from the beginning of the operation in intelligence and support missions in profit of land forces.

The detachment quickly reached a new format of ten crews and six aircraft. The experience on this theater and joint operations in Africa has allowed the navy crews to be immediately efficient in air and ground maneuvers. Thanks to their extremely versatile aircraft, ATL2 crews successfully performed:
- Intelligence missions
- Ground forces support missions
- Forward air control and ground targets designation missions
- Command and control missions
and for the first time in operation to bombing missions against enemy targets.

Initially based in Dakar , the detachment was transferred to Niamey, Niger . Over time , the size of the detachment was reduced to one crew and a single aircraft. Nevertheless the pace of flights remains strong in support of Operation Serval .