Jamie Hunter reviews the Tornado’s air operations over Libya in 2011, which once again included some significant milestones.
Operation Odyssey Dawn started on March 19, 2011, as the effort to enforce a no-fly zone under UN Resolution 1973 to protect Libyan citizens from attacks perpetrated by forces loyal to Col Muammar Gaddafi. This ran from March 19-30, with the US very much taking the lead – NATO assumed command on March 27 under what became known as Unified Protector. With the downfall of the Gaddafi regime and the passing of control to a new Libyan government, the NATO campaign formally ended on October 31.
At its peak, the UK had 2,300 personnel, 37 aircraft and four ships committed to Operation Ellamy, as the British contribution was named. UK forces flew in excess of 3,000 sorties, more than 2,100 of which were strike missions, successfully hitting around 640 targets.
With up to 16 Tornado GR4s deployed to Gioia del Colle, Italy, some notable combat ‘firsts’ were achieved. This included the first time five Paveway IVs had been dropped simultaneously from a GR4 in combat. Indeed, one occasion saw three aircraft dropping a total of …
