Canadian planes have flown 116 sorties over Iraq, commander says
Canadian military aircraft have flown more than 100 sorties in Iraq since joining coalition forces at the end of October, a senior commander said Thursday, including escorting a humanitarian aid drop to civilians earlier this week.
Col. Daniel Constable, commander of joint task force Iraq, provided an update for reporters on Canadas mission against Islamic State militants.
While he offered little in the way of specifics, he updated the total number of sorties flown by Canadian aircraft to 116. Broken down by number of sorties per aircraft:
Earlier this week, an undisclosed number of CF-18s escorted a coalition transport aircraft that was conducting a humanitarian aid air drop mission over Iraq, Constable said.
Supplies included water, tents and blankets to help Iraqi civilians who will face harsh winter temperatures in the coming months, he said in a teleconference Thursday morning.
On those missions, Constable noted that transport aircraft have to fly at lower altitudes, and are therefore more vulnerable to attack from the ground.
The presence of our CF-18s to provide top cover for the transport aircraft, allowed it to deliver its aid cargo at a lower altitude knowing that our fighter aircraft could detect and target any air or ground threats, Constable said.
The mission was highly effective, and appreciated by our coalition partner.
Citing security concerns, Constable would not divulge the date on which the mission occurred, how many CF-18s were involved, or which coalition country was providing the aid.
Constable also updated figures on how much fuel Canadas C-150 refueller has delivered to coalition aircraft. More than 976,000 pounds of fuel have been provided to Canadian, U.S., Australian and British planes, he said.
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Canadian planes have flown 116 sorties over Iraq, commander says