French Army Aviation in Lybia
PHA Tonnerre with the Helicopter Strike Group
No one can forget the movie Apocalypse Now and the Heliborne operation led by Col Kilgore’s Air Cavalry at the sound of the ride of the Valkyrie.
This movie will be forever linked to the Vietnam War where noria of bell UH1 Huey were used during the conflict.
Helicopter operations evolved from medical evacuation roles in the 1950s to troop carriers and anti-vehicle gunship platforms.
The French ALAT (Aviation Legere de l’Armee de Terre) played an important role in developing this doctrine above Algeria but their contribution was dwarfed by the US Army Vietnam operations where more than 11,000 helicopters were used with more than 5000 being lost. Flying close to the ground in daylight, they were exposed to everything the Viet Minh could throw at them.
Brute force or light and nimble?
In 1980, NATO ground forces in Europe faced the Warsaw Pact, the strongest military force ever deployed. 50,000+ tanks and 70,000+ various assault vehicles supported by 35,000+ artillery guns and 8000 tactical aircraft.
Nato forces were outnumbered 2 or 3 to 1.
In the 1970s, the US Army spent a huge amount of money on the AH64 Apache, a formidable $13.5 M machine with armour and complex electronic protection capable of firing 8 to 16 laser-guided missiles on enemy armour at 6 km. It was built to stop any Warsaw Pact onslaught on Western Europe, but it was and still is a nightmare to maintain.
European Nations thought it was more cost-effective to purchase cheaper, lighter, easier-to-maintain helicopters for this role. Hence, the deployment of many French Gazelle and German Bo105 in the anti-tank role.
This paradigm is still valid to this day. Is it better to have a good machine that works 80% of the time or an amazing one (on paper) but only available 30% of the time and with a very heavy logistic footprint?
The Pentagon very often falls for the marketing brochure and goes for the shiny new toy. To get a good sense of what is reasonable, one needs to look at the hardware used by the US Marines. They never bought the Apache; they kept using and improving the AH1 Cobra, a Vietnam-era concept, easy to maintain and use from ships….
The different operations in the ‘90s and 2000 reinforced the key role of the helicopters, but also their vulnerabilities when used with too much confidence as demonstrated over Mogadishu (Black Hawk Down movie) or in Iraq during the battle of Karbala in March 2003, an episode less known as an enemy tactical victory does not make a good script for Hollywood.
The US Army 11th Attack regiment equipped with 31 Apache took a beating when they were ambushed and put out of action for a month by a skillfully led division of the Iraqi Republican Guard. Using scouts with mobile phones, they waited until the helicopters were at very close range to open a devastating barrage of anti-aircraft fire.
Thanks to Apache armour and firepower, none of the crews were killed, but 29 helicopters were severely damaged, and one was shot down.
Subsequently, helicopters were seen by NATO commanders as too vulnerable to be engaged against a well-trained, well-equipped enemy; high-flying fighter bombers with GPS bombs were considered a better option.
We own the night!
In the early ‘80s, France was years away from deploying similar well-protected helicopters, so they compensated by focusing on ultra-low flight training (less than 15 feet) day and night. This flying technique allows helicopters to fly well below treetop level, thus increasing their survivability.
A set of wheels maybe??
If the Cold War turned hot, the French Division Aeromobile was tasked to stop any Soviet breakthrough in Western Germany by deploying hundreds of anti-tank Gazelle and missile infantry groups around them in a few hours. This enormous heliborne firepower should have been able to stop or slow down soviet armour and mechanised division until a Nato counterattack could be mounted.
By 2010, despite the post-Cold War cuts, the French ALAT had years of operational experience in all weather, day or night, ultra-low flying operations, thanks to multiple deployments in Africa and Afghanistan. They surprised the US coalition commander in Afghanistan on multiple occasions when, during bad weather, the French helicopters were the only ones flying.
Bloody French Dogs!
In 2011, when the Unified Protector air campaign against Gaddafi started to slow down due to the Libyan troops being too close to civilians to be engaged by highflying bombers, the French and the British proposed to send their combat helicopters to go hunting for the enemy at close range.
The initial reaction from NATO HQ was a flat ‘no’, as they did not want to see any Nato pilot shot down on TV. But once the French ALAT commander explained how they would only fly in full darkness and at an extremely low level, a skill very few units had, they were given the green light. However, NATO HQ expected these raids to be short-lived in case of early casualties.
In a couple of weeks, 20 helicopters and their support equipment were loaded into the French Navy LHA Tonnerre to form the Helicopter Strike Group, an operation never planned before at this scale. The British Army contributed with 4 Apache aboard the HMS Ocean, but they were operating independently.
To the amazement of NATO High Command, the French launched 41-night raids over the next four months from their Helicopter carrier without any losses!
Sending each time a mix of old Gazelle HOT (anti-tank missiles), brand new Tigers for fire support and one Puma for rescue.
2 French Navy frigates were also used to provide naval fire support, destroying many military vehicles with several hundred 100mm high explosive shells being fired, a first since the 1960s in Algeria. One Frigate was even shot at by Lybian coastal artillery with shells falling less than 50m from the ship.
Fire support mission From FLF Courbet.
An Atlantique 2 maritime patrol aircraft was used to scan the ground ahead of the Helicopters to warn them against any dangers with their thermal camera.
The French Carrier battle group also provided constant Combat Air Patrol missions with Rafale M, just in case any Libyan pilot wanted to have a go at the helicopter strike.
The French ALAT commander quickly knew they were effective, thanks to the radio interception of a Libyan Officer cursing these “Bloody French dogs” and their frustration in their effort to try to shoot them down.
Taking off from the PHA Tonnerre, sailing just below the horizon, the French Army Aviation destroyed 600 targets using HOT-2 wire-guided missiles, 30mm autocannon, rockets and even Mistral air-to-air missiles used against armed pickups.
Some missions were more exciting than others; one Gazelle crew lost its door due to the overpressure caused when they fired a missile from its wing or when a Manpads shot blindly, triggering a very bright and noisy automated flare sequence of a Tiger, making him a perfect target for a couple of seconds. Luckily, the Tiger flew away unarmed out of the illuminated zone.
NATO operation commander, the Canadian Charles Bouchard, a helicopter pilot himself, congratulated the bold French operation on their success in forcing the enemy to disengage and for its contribution to unlocking the situation.
This incredible result was due to extensive mission planning and exclusive usage of last-generation thermal sight to allow flying only during moonless nights and always staying unpredictable.
Subsequently to this successful operation, the ALAT Flight school saw several foreign English-speaking students who had been tasked to learn how these ”bloody French dogs” were flying so low.
Moving forward
Twelve years later, in the face of the very heavy losses the Russian and Ukrainian helicopters suffered in the conflict, it is justified to ask ourselves if the days of the attack helicopter are over.
If used in daytime over a heavily defended frontline where MANPADS and unguided artillery systems are prevalent, even the most modern helicopter is a fairly slow and easy target, hence the enormous losses. The ALAT commander General Meyer criticises Russian operating methods as ill-suited for helicopters and the lack of troop coordination (see interview of Xavier Tytleman).
I would point out that one of the most successful known raids done in mid-2022 by Ukraine was a 2 ship mi-35 Hind night raid, deep behind enemy lines as per ALAT tactics. When used properly with stealth, they can bring heavy firepower to the most unexpected places. This is a good example of how the ALAT defines its tactics at night to strike distant high-value targets.
Today, the Gazelles HOT are reaching the end of their 45 years of operational life. They are eventually replaced by the long-awaited Tiger HAP/ HAD who already demonstrated its efficiency. ALAT pilots are still taught to fly below power cable at 70 knots at night, with laser-guided hellfire missiles, 30 mm helmet-designated autocannon and Mistral missiles.
Illustration Daniel BECHENNEC helicopassion.com.
For them to stay dominant on the battlefield, the Tigers will soon be integrated into a networked battlefield, where they will be able to remotely operate a swarm of sentry and attack drones, silently designating targets for the mothership to strike without being seen as per their motto “From the earth, through the sky”.
Photos
https://www.helicopassion.com/fr/03/gazelle01.htm
Source Envoyer les Helicos de Pierre Verborg
https://lemamouth.blogspot.com/
Xavier tytleman
DSI
