Critical Observer

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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The Royal Australian Air Force has completed its first operational flight in Syria, where two F/A-18A Hornets went on a “free hunt” mission in the eastern part of the country controlled by Islamic State (formerly ISIS/ISIL). Australia formally joined the anti-ISIS coalition a year ago.</span></div>
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<br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="border-color: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-source: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-style: initial; height: auto; width: 813.229px;"><img alt="Night Vision image of an F/A-18A Hornet from Australia's Air Task Group refuelling from a Royal Australian Air Force KC-30A Multi Role Tanker Transport aircraft during the first mission of Operation OKRA to be flown over Syria. © defence.gov.au" class="media__item" src="http://cdn.rt.com/files/2015.09/original/55f3ded6c3618855498b4574.jpg" style="border: 0px; display: block; height: auto; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%; padding: 0px; width: 813.229px;" /></span><span style="background-color: #cccccc;">Night Vision image of an F/A-18A Hornet from Australia's Air Task Group refuelling from a Royal Australian Air Force KC-30A Multi Role Tanker Transport aircraft during the first mission of Operation OKRA to be flown over Syria. © defence.gov.au</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The fighter jets have successfully returned to the airbase, the Australian Air Task Group said in a statement Saturday. The mission was supported by the RAAF’s E-7A Wedgetail Airborne Early Warning and Control aircraft maintaining communication with anti-ISIS coalition’s air operations center and KC-30A multi-role aerial tanker.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">“No weapons were released during the mission,”</em> Australia’s Defense Department said in a statement.</span></div>
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<em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“The mission provided on-call interdiction and dynamic targeting support as part of the international coalition’s effort to disrupt and degrade Daesh (ISIS).”</span></em></div>
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<em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Earlier this week Australia’s National Security Committee agreed to extend the RAAF combat operations beyond Iraq, where RAAF has been operating throughout the last year as part of the US-led anti-ISIS international coalition. The Australian Defense Force’s operation in Iraq and Syria has been dubbed Operation OKRA.</span></em></div>
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<span style="line-height: 22.4px;"><i>“[ISIS] controls a large amount of territory in eastern Syria that serves as a source of recruitment and oil revenues, and as a base from which it continues to launch attacks into Iraq,” </i>News.com.au cited Air Task Group Commander, Commodore Stu Bellingham, as saying.</span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 22.4px;">The Australian task force deployed against the Islamic State consists of eight F/A18 Super Hornet jets, one E-7A Wedgetail Airborne Early Warning and Control aircraft, one KC-30A multi-role aerial tanker and transport aircraft, 400 Air Force personnel to support air deployment and 200 military officers, including a Special Forces team to operate as “military advisers” to Kurdish Peshmerga self-defense fighters and other forces fighting the jihadists.</span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 22.4px;">The RAAF also has C-17 Globemaster and C130 Hercules transport aircraft deployed at al-Minhad Air Base south of Dubai, in the UAE, which provide the anti-ISIS multinational force with airlift assistance, transporting military equipment, arms and munitions to Iraqi forces.</span></div>
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AUSTRALIA ANTI-ISIS MISSION IN SYRIA; ROUND 1 COMPLETE

The Royal Australian Air Force has completed its first operational flight in Syria, where two F/A-18A Hornets went on a “free hunt” mis...

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