Planes from Greenwood headed to Mid East
Posted Oct 8, 2014 05:37:30 PM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Two maritime patrol aircraft from CFB Greenwood will participate in the Canadian combat mission in the Middle East.
A release from the Department of National Defence confirms a military reconnaissance team is already on the ground in the region.
It also outlines the contingent of aircraft Canada will send, including two CP-140 Auroras from 14-Wing Greenwood.
Dalhousie military analyst Ken Hansen says this isn’t unheard-of for military in the region.
“It might be novel for some people because they haven’t heard it before, but in reality Canadian ships from the base in Halifax and Canadian aircraft from Greenwood have deployed many times on operations to different parts of the world,” said Hansen.
“So this is a recent development, it’s a little bit different from prior, but it isn’t extremely different from what has been done in the more distant past.”
The recently upgraded Auroras employ cutting-edge technology that allows them to identify and track targets over a wide area and they were used with great effectiveness in the Libya bombing campaign three years ago.
Retired general Lew MacKenzie says the CF-18s will be searching for targets to bomb now that ISIL fighters have dispersed and taken cover.
The deployment will also include up to six CF-18s from CFB Cold Lake and one CC-150 Polaris from CFB Trenton.
