ORLANDO, Fla. — Some of the coalition members contributing to the Operation Inherent Resolve fight against the Islamic State group are committing large percentages of their air forces, or taking historic steps for their militaries.
Two weeks after the Australian government made the decision to contribute to the coalition, the country sent a large package of its air force to join the fight, including the first-ever deployment of its Super Hornet squadron, along with multiple support aircraft that have been flying daily in support of the mission, Royal Australian Air Force Air Commodore Gary Martin said.
The Australian team includes six Super Hornets, a C-17, two C-130Js and a KC-40A refueling tanker. The Super Hornets have been tasked by the combined air operations center to conduct airstrikes, while the KC-40A has been flying daily to refuel Hornets in support of the fight, Martin said.
The Australian group is the second-largest contingent, after the U.S., deployed as part of the operation.
“For us, this is a sizable outcome,” Martin said Thursday at the Air Force Association Air Warfare Symposium here today in Orlando.
The Royal Danish Air Force has also been active in the fight since early on, sending a large proportion amount of its small Air Force to help the fight. Seven F-16s have been deployed to the operation, out of the total fleet of 30 Falcons, Royal Danish Air Force Maj. Gen. Henrik Dam said. With such a large percentage of the fleet deployed, the country has been forced to reorganize and prioritize its remaining assets to focus on the remaining missions at home.
“It has an impact, but there’s no way around it, is there,” Dam said.
The United Arab Emirates Air Force this week returned to conducting airstrikes in as a part of the operation, after a stand down in December when the country requested that the U.S. deploy more assets in the area to be on call to rescue downed pilots.
Lt. Col. Hassan Mohamed Ali Alanazi of the Emirati air force said his country is playing a major role in the operations, flying airstrikes with their block 60 F-16s — the most advanced Falcons in the world.
“A strong and effective participation has allowed the UAE to become a more integrated and a more capable partner,” he said. “It is not the only operation we have participated in … We have also participated in Somalia, Libya and Afghanistan. However, despite with all of the many successes we had, we wanted to move this level of partnership to the next level.”
Inherent Resolve coalition includes large, historic deployments
