France will probably fly a couple of hundred missions; helps make sure all bugs are out of the Rafale, allows them to call the plane battle tested and supports a NATO effort. All around win for the French.
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France’s engagement in Afghanistan
http://www.ambafrance-us.org/news/st...tan_121106.asp
The NATO summit (Riga, November 28 and 29, 2006) was devoted mainly to Afghanistan. On that occasion, the President of the Republic laid out new developments in France’s military contribution to operations in that country, as part of a global strategy and a reaffirmed political and economic process. These latest developments are motivated by the will to tailor the French deployment to NATO and Afghan needs.
These military evolutions are threefold:
1) In the Kabul zone, which is under France’s command until April 2007, the French military deployment will be reinforced.
2) Conditions of the French Forces’ deployment outside that zone will be relaxed. The President announced that French troops could be deployed outside the Kabul zone, if need be, and based on the assessment of the situation and engagement conditions. The decision will be made on a case by case basis, actually in a comparable manner to what is being done with British troops.
3) France’s commitment to the training of Afghan Armed Forces will be strengthened.
French military contribution to Afghanistan
As part of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), France has committed 1,100 military personnel to the Kabul Regional Capital Command (RCC). Since August 6, 2006, it has been in command of that zone, which includes several other contingents from Italy, Turkey, Germany, Greece, Bulgaria, Azerbaijan, Albania, Macedonia, etc…). The French battalion carries on its monitoring and security missions north of that zone, in the Shamali and Deh Sabz plains. On October 16, it took over from the United Kingdom the responsibility of the Surobi region. It participates in alert duty tours on the RCC rapid reaction force.
As part of Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF), France has been contributing since 2003 to anti-terrorism missions with 200 Special Forces fighting alongside American Forces.
France has also been an active maritime participant in Operation Enduring Freedom. Its missions include preventing terrorist movements between the Arabian Peninsula and the Horn of Africa, fighting illegal trafficking and protecting offshore oil facilities.
Air support to ISAF and OEF: with 3 Mirage 2000D and 2 C160 based at Dushanbe Air Force Base (Tajikistan), as well as 2 C135 refueling tankers based at Manas (Kyrgyzstan), France conducts daily fire support, refueling, reconnaissance and logistics operations. This deployment is regularly reinforced with the deployment of additional Mirage aircraft (3 Mirage F1CR from June 15 to August 28, 2006) and with the presence of CVN “Charles de Gaulle” in the Indian Ocean (3 long-term deployments since 2001).
Training of the Afghan National Army (ANA) Personnel: France participates in the operational training of the Afghan National Army units (OMLT and Task Force Phoenix). Since 2003, it has refocused its efforts on training Afghan officers (simultaneously, Great Britain and New Zealand are responsible for the training of non commissioned officers, while the United States trains enlisted personnel).
On going changes to French deployment in Afghanistan
1) France is reinforcing the mobility of its deployment in the Kabul area by sending EC-725 maneuver helicopters for troop airlifts and medevac missions (40 service personnel, 2 11-ton helicopters).
2) France is maintaining and strengthening its military deployment. It is reinforcing its battalion with additional maneuver capabilities by deploying two additional infantry sections (60 military personnel, 6 armored vehicles).
In 2007, it will maintain its air support deployment to ISAF and OEF, which it will reinforce in the spring with the presence of its CVN battle group.
As part of the extension of ISAF operational zone and OEF downsizing (10,000 U.S. personnel transferred from OED to ISAF), France will withdraw, at the beginning of 2007, its OEF Special Forces, which are urgently needed on other theaters of operations.
3) France is increasing the number of personnel assigned to OMLT to train the Afghan National Army.
Conclusion
France is one of the top military contributors in Afghanistan and it currently assumes major command duties, notably in the Kabul area. France is not imposing any “caveat” to the operational use of its forces, which it can even render more flexible and mobile.
France’s new military deployment is part of a global political strategy in Afghanistan so that progress in terms of security can rapidly lead the way to the implementation of that nation’s development process.
Embassy of France in the United States