Canada officially announces conclusion of offensive operations in Iraq and Syria
http://www.janes.com/article/58960/canada-officially-announces-conclusion-of-offensive-operations-in-iraq-and-syriaGareth Jennings, London - IHS Jane's Defence Weekly
22 March 2016
Canada has officially ended its involvement in airstrikes against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria with a ceremony by the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) to mark the standing-down of its Operation 'Impact' Fighter Detachment, the service announced on 21 March.
The announcement came some six weeks after the Canadian government disclosed its decision on 9 February to instead focus on training local forces, and two weeks after the mission was formally transitioned on 5 March.
From the first sortie flown from Kuwait on 30 October 2014 through to the final combat mission on 15 February 2016, Operation 'Impact' saw the RCAF's Boeing F/A-18C (CF-18/CF-188) Hornet detachment fly 1,378 sorties, resulting in 246 airstrikes in Iraq and five in Syria (equating to roughly 2% of all coalition strikes to date), and the expenditure of 606 munitions. According to the service, this resulted in the destruction of 267 Islamic State fighting positions, 102 pieces of enemy equipment and vehicles, and 30 improvised explosive device factories and storage facilities.
While the Fighter Detachment personnel have returned to Canada, four of the CF-188 Hornets are now in Romania with personnel from 3 Wing in Bagotville, Quebec, to conduct bilateral training with the Romanian Air Force.
Despite the end of the offensive combat operations in the Middle East, the RCAF maintains an Airbus A310 (CC-150T) Polaris aerial refuelling tanker, and up to two Lockheed Martin P-3 (CP-140M) Aurora surveillance aircraft to support ongoing coalition efforts against the Islamic State in the region.
