Opération Baliste was a French aeronaval operation off Lebanon aimed at securing citizens of the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are located primarily in Europe, Europe. The union has a total area of ...

in the context of the

2006 Lebanon War The 2006 Lebanon War, also called the 2006 Israel–Hezbollah War and known in Lebanon as the July War ( ar, حرب تموز, ''Ḥarb Tammūz'') and in Israel as the Second Lebanon War ( he, מלחמת לבנון השנייה, ''Milhemet Leva ...

Components

Opération Baliste employed 1,700 men under Counter Admiral

Xavier Magne Amiral Xavier Magne is a French Navy officer, commander of European Maritime Force between 2011 and 2013. Biography Magne made a career aboard the ''Charles De Gaulle Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (; ; (commonly abbreviated as ...

. The operation was threefold : * An aerial transport group, composed with one

Transall C-160 The Transall C-160 is a military transport aircraft, produced as a joint venture between France and Germany. "Transall" is an abbreviation of the manufacturing consortium Transporter Allianz, comprising the companies of MBB, Aerospatiale, and ...

and 3

Eurocopter Cougar The Eurocopter AS532 Cougar (now Airbus Helicopters H215M) is a twin-engine, medium-weight, multipurpose helicopter developed by France. The AS532 is a development and upgrade of the Aérospatiale SA 330 Puma in its militarized form. Its civil ...

* A battlegroup of the

French Army History Early history The first permanent army, paid with regular wages, instead of feudal levies, was established under Charles VII of France, Charles VII in the 1420 to 1430s. The Kings of France needed reliable troops during and after the ...

, including motorised infantry, engineering, ALAT and light armour. * An amphibious naval group composed with the amphibious operation ships and , and the frigates and . The group had hospital capabilities, combat helicopters, transport helicopters, and landing craft.

History

On 18 August 2006, 14,500 people had been evacuated (including 11,300 French citizens). On 20 August, the amphibious assault ship and the frigate sailed from

Toulon Toulon (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Tolon , , ) is a city on the French Riviera and a large port on the Mediterranean coast, with a major naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, and the Provence province, Toulon is th ...

to join the theatre and convoy elements from the 2nd and 13th Regiments of Engineering, as well as over 100 engineering vehicles for the

UNIFIL The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon ( ar, قوة الأمم المتحدة المؤقتة في لبنان, he, כוח האו"ם הזמני בלבנון), or UNIFIL ( ar, يونيفيل, he, יוניפי״ל), is a UN peacekeeping m ...

On 3 October, an Israeli fighter penetrated the defence perimeter of the stealth frigate , triggering a diplomatic incident. Israel apologised after official protests from the French government.

References

External links

French Defence Ministry
{{DEFAULTSORT:Baliste, Operation 2006 Lebanon War Battles involving the French Foreign Legion France–Israel relations France–Lebanon relations Military operations involving France