I expect the result of the Afghan attack will have even less effect on Coalition operations, as coalition aircraft inventories are large.
While these operations destroyed a significant portion of the small Sri Lankan air force, the airforce was generally able to cope with each attack and did not see any major interruption of air combat operations. These attacks were made in an effort to eliminate the Sri Lankan government’s advantage of air supremacy by destroying aircraft on the ground since they had no effective means of destroying them in the air. Another similar attack was that on Anuradhapura Air Force Base in 2007, where 21 LTTE suicide commandos destroyed at least 9 Sri Lankan aircraft. It played out almost exactly like the July 24th 2001 LTTE attack on Bandaranaike air base where 14 LTTE suicide commandos destroyed a number of Sri Lankan Air force and civilian aircraft. This attack is remarkably similar to ones made by the LTTE during the Sri Lankan Civil War. Tags: Afghanistan, Haqqani Network, Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami, Pakistan, Taliban 48 Comments Thanks for reading! You can make a tax-deductible donation here. In the past, Harriers were stationed in Afghanistan.īill Roggio is a Senior Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and the Editor of FDD's Long War Journal.Īre you a dedicated reader of FDD's Long War Journal? Has our research benefitted you or your team over the years? Support our independent reporting and analysis today by considering a one-time or monthly donation. The British military retired its Harriers two years ago. Ĭorrection/update: the article was updated to note that the Harriers were from the US Marine Corps. An alliance of jihadist groups, that include the Pakistani and Afghan Taliban, al Qaeda, Harakat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami, Jaish-e-Mohammed, and other terror groups have penetrated bases and targeted aircraft and other personnel. “We couldn’t afford this loss, and our troops on the ground are going to feel this.”įriday’s complex attack on Bastion is very similar to a host of other assaults on major bases in Afghanistan and Pakistan that have taken place over the years.
“Our resources in the south - including aircraft - are already stretched,” the officer told The Long War Journal. The Harriers are used to provide close air support for Coalition forces conducting combat and counterinsurgency operations in the south, and with eight of the aircraft taken offline, there will be less to support these missions. However, a US Marine aviation officer familiar with operations in southern Afghanistan disagreed. ISAF said on the day of the attack that it “has determined that despite the damage, there will be no impact to ground or air operations from Camp Bastion.” Six soft-skin aircraft hangars were damaged to some degree.” The aircraft cost an estimated $30 million each.Īdditionally, “three coalition refueling stations were also destroyed. ISAF confirmed that six AV-8B Harrier strike aircraft “were destroyed” and two more “were significantly damaged.” Although ISAF did not state which country owned flew the aircraft, the US Marine Corps is the only military branch flying Harriers in Afghanistan. Once inside the perimeter, the assault team “attacked coalition fixed and rotary wing aircraft parked on the flight line, aircraft hangars and other buildings.”
Army uniforms and armed with automatic rifles, rocket propelled grenade launchers and suicide vests.” The members of the jihadist assault team were “dressed in U.S. “The insurgents, organized into three teams, penetrated at one point of the perimeter fence.” when approximately 15 insurgents executed a well-coordinated attack against the airfield on Camp Bastion,” ISAF said in a statement that provided additional details on the attack. Fourteen members of the assault team were killed and one more was wounded and captured. Eight other ISAF troops and a civilian contractor were wounded in the attack. The nighttime attack, in which a suicide assault team penetrated the perimeter of Camp Bastion, a sprawling base in the Desert of Death in Helmand province, resulted in the death of two ISAF soldiers. The members of the suicide assault team wore US Army uniforms and “appeared to be well equipped, trained and rehearsed,” the International Security Assistance Force said. Image from the US Department of Defense.įriday night’s “well-coordinated” suicide assault on Camp Bastion resulted in the destruction of six US Harrier strike aircraft and significant damage to two others.