OP IMPACT Air-Task-Force Iraq Update

Since the end of the RCAF CF-18 Air campaign against ISIS, little news has surfaced about OP IMPACT until the recent news regarding CAF Special Forces facing mortar fire over the weekend; or the political implications of wearing the Kurdish flag on their uniforms.

As such, I figured it was about time to offer an update on Air-Task-Force Iraq.

According to the DND OP IMPACT webpage,

As part of the Government of Canada’s expanded contribution to multinational efforts to degrade and defeat the so-called Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) recently added three CH-146 Griffon helicopters, an all-source intelligence centre, and additional trainers to Operation IMPACT. Learn more.

Current Total of Aircraft sorties

• As of 28 May 2016, Air Task Force-Iraq has conducted 2332 sorties*:
• CC-150T Polaris aerial refueller conducted 462 sorties, delivering some 26,800,000 pounds of fuel to coalition aircraft; and
• CP-140 Aurora aircraft conducted 492 reconnaissance missions.

Definition - sortie: in air operations, a sortie refers to an operational flight by one aircraft. A sortie starts when one aircraft takes off and ends upon landing.

*This total includes 1378 sorties conducted by CF-18 Hornets between 30 October 2014 and 15 February 2016.

To keep the aircraft functioning properly in a desert environment, an aviation technician sprays down the wing and fuselage of a CP-140 Aurora in Kuwait during Operation IMPACT on April 4, 2016. Photo: CAF Combat Camera