Dassault Rafale Coped Well With Mali Mission
Loaded with GBU-12 bombs and a Damocles targeting pod, a Rafale departs St. Dizier airbase in the early hours of Sunday, January 13, en route to targets in Mali. (Photo: French Air Force)
Loaded with GBU-12 bombs and a Damocles targeting pod, a Rafale departs St. Dizier airbase in the early hours of Sunday, January 13, en route to targets in Mali. (Photo: French Air Force)

For the Dassault Rafale combat jet, the French intervention in Mali provided another chance to demonstrate its multirole capability. Starting with a 3,400-mile interdiction mission (AI) launched from France on the night of January 13, up to six aircraft subsequently flew daily from their deployed base at N’Djamena, Chad, also performing reconnaissance and close-air-support (CAS) missions. Six of them are still there.