World Air Forces Directory introduction 2011

[Manticore]

Joint response: World Air Forces Directory introduction

An action-packed 2011 saw air power put to the test across its full spectrum of activities, from all-out conflict and clandestine cross-border raids to flying humanitarian relief missions in the wake of natural disasters.

For once, the main defence headlines of the year were not driven by coalition action in Afghanistan or Iraq, but the result of the "Arab Spring" movement that swept through Middle Eastern and North African nations, bringing unrest and political upheaval.

While regime change was brought about in Egypt without the major involvement of the local military in support of then-president Hosni Mubarak, the national movement to oust Col Muammar Gaddafi from more than four decades of power in Libya was a longer and more bloody experience. Initially led by the US armed forces from mid-March under the banner "Odyssey Dawn", the United Nations-backed campaign to protect Libyan civilians from persecution also benefitted from the involvement of several members of the Arab League. NATO took full command of the activity from 31 March, with its "Unified Protector" mission eventually lasting for seven months and totalling more than 26,300 sorties.

Libya provided an unusual test for participating nations. While the assembled force of fighters from players such as Canada, France, Qatar, Spain, the United Arab Emirates and the UK allocated to enforce a no-fly zone over the country provided sufficient threat to keep any pro-Gaddafi aircraft on the ground, the long distances involved in operating from bases throughout the Mediterranean delivered a logistical challenge. Command and control, targeting and communication issues also arose for some participants, such as the UAE's Lockheed Martin F-16E/Fs. And with no acknowledged coalition forces on the ground, the task of identifying rebel forces from regime troops was also testing.

COMBAT FOCUS

While the USA stepped back from playing the lead role over Libya following its provision of early and intense strikes against Gaddafi's forces and infrastructure, it did continue to deliver key support via the allocation of tankers and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft: both of which are still in short supply among its allies.

Washington's main focus remained in fighting the Taliban in Afghanistan, and also in targeting its senior leadership in neighbouring Pakistan, and also further afield in nations such as Yemen. On 2 May, its decade-long action to locate Osama bin Laden was finally ended when he was killed during a special forces raid on a compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan. A tantalising glimpse of the USA's advances into the world of stealthy rotorcraft was provided after one of its helicopters crashed during the troop insertion.

While the bulk of the aircraft - believed to have been a heavily modified Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk - was destroyed, its tail structure survived intact.

Meanwhile, in addition to supporting the fight over Libya and in Afghanistan, several nations also found the capacity to fly in supplies in the aftermath of a massive earthquake and tsunami which devastated parts of Japan in March. US Air Force Boeing C-17s flew into Sendai, for example, to help assist with the recovery efforts.

Elsewhere this year, major earthquakes also hit New Zealand and Turkey, and floods affected parts of Pakistan, all drawing support from air arms which are typically being asked to do more with reduced resources or personnel as most nations contend with severe budgetary limitations.

Our new World Air Forces directory lists over 52,000 aircraft as being in active use with 160 nations around the globe: a drop of approximately 2,000 airframes since last year. More than one-third of this reduction can be attributed to improved data, which has allowed a combined 850 obsolete Harbin H-5 and Nanchang Q-5 combat aircraft to be deleted from the inventories of the Chinese air force and navy.

Another significant contributor has been the coalition and rebel action which destroyed or disabled a large amount of the former Libyan Arab Air Force's fleet.



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