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On 18 March 2002, the Secretary
of State for Defence announced that a Commando battlegroup
was being dispatched to work with US, Canadian and other
Coalition forces in operations against remaining pockets
of Al Qaida and Taliban resistance in Afghanistan. It
was confirmed on 16 April that 45 Commando Group had
commenced operations. British Forces previously committed
to Operation Veritas have included
Royal Navy S & T Class submarines,
RAF support aircraft, and a naval task group with Commando
forces embarked. Details
of the British contribution to the International Security
Assistance Force in Kabul are listed separately.
A Royal Navy task group has
been retained in the area since September 2001, supported
by a large Royal
Fleet Auxiliary presence. Early in 2002, the
helicopter carrier HMS
Ocean relieved the aircraft carrier HMS
Illustrious
and the assault ship HMS
Fearless,
which formed the core of the original task group. Ocean
has Royal Marines from 45
Commando embarked, taking over from 40
Commando the task of providing an in-theatre contingency
reserve force, and they form the core of the battlegroup
now deployed on a warfighting task in Afghanistan. The
battlegroup includes a wide range of elements drawn
from all three Services to produce a fully self-contained
force:
Much of the battlegroup's
equipment was already embarked aboard HMS Ocean
and the Royal Fleet Auxiliaries, and the balance has
been flown or shipped out. In total, the battlegroup
and its supporting elements total some 1,700 personnel.
Three Royal Navy nuclear-powered
Fleet Submarines of the Swiftsure and Trafalgar
classes were deployed for the start of operations in
October - HMS Superb, HMS Trafalgar and
HMS Triumph. The latter pair are equipped
with the highly effective and very precise Tomahawk
Land Attack Missile system, introduced to the Fleet
in November 1998 and used operationally during the Kosovo
campaign in 1999. Royal Navy TLAMs were fired
on the first night of operations against Al Qaida and
the Taliban on 7/8 October 2001, and again on 13 October.
All three of the above submarines
have returned to the UK, but a submarine presence will
be maintained in the area whilst operations continue.
Following the collapse of Taliban
control in most areas of Afghanistan, it has proved
possible to reduce somewhat the significant combat support
force contributed to the operation by the Royal Air
Force. RAF Tristar and VC-10 tanker aircraft from RAF
Brize Norton in Oxfordshire were deployed, and a capability
has been retained in theatre to support the continuing
operations in the area. Their refuelling system
is compatible with US Navy and US Marine Corps aircraft,
allowing them to offer particular support to US carrier-borne
assets. The Royal Air Force has the largest air-to-air
refuelling tanker force in the world after the United
States. Air-to-air refuelling is invaluable in
modern military air operations, since the limiting factor
on aircraft range and endurance becomes, to all intents
and purposes, only the endurance of the aircrew, allowing
aircraft to operate anywhere in the world with great
rapidity.
Other RAF aircraft supporting
the operation have included: sophisticated E-3D Sentry
AEW1 surveillance and control aircraft from RAF Waddington,
Lincolnshire; Nimrod R1 surveillance aircraft, also
from Waddington; Nimrod MR2 maritime reconnaissance
aircraft from RAF Kinloss; and Canberra PR9 reconnaissance
aircraft from RAF Marham, Norfolk. The reconnaissance
and surveillance assets are capable of a wide range
of tasks, including the location of concentrations of
displaced people requiring humanitarian assistance.
The PR9 in particular provided a unique coalition capability.
Again, it has proved possible to reduce the numbers
of aircraft deployed on the operation following the
removal of the Taliban regime, but surveillance aircraft
remain in the area and continue to fly operational sorties.
RAF air transport aircraft
from RAF Lyneham and RAF Brize Norton are providing
the essential air transport support needed, particularly
for the deployment of ISAF personnel under Operation
Fingal.
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