Permissible skies .. How has Libya's atmosphere become more crowded with the Druze in the world?

Last August 4, the Libyan skies witnessed an unusual event, when a Chinese-made drone was destroyed by forces of the internationally recognized government of Al-Wefaq while conducting a combat reconnaissance mission, and the Wing Long 2 was operated by the United Arab Emirates In favor of the militias of the retired brigade "Khalifa Hifter" known as the "Libyan National Army". Of course, the difference was not the plane crashing, as this scene became familiar in Libya during the recent period, but it was represented in the way the plane fell, where experts (1) suggested that the plane was shot down by a Turkish-made laser weapon mounted on an armored vehicle.

This was not an ordinary event at all. It was the first time in the history of wars that a combat vehicle armed with laser beams issued by another vehicle was destroyed in a real battlefield, and it is strange that this happened in Libya by semi-regular forces and not a traditional trained army, By Turkish, not American, Russian, or even Chinese weapons, he highlighted the shift of the Libyan conflict to the arena of introducing new combat technologies, conventional and hybrid, from electronic attacks to laser weapons and Drones.

For a long time, the manufacturing and operation of drones in particular was the preserve of the most technically efficient armies in the world, specifically the United States, and behind it Israel, by a notable difference, and for nearly two decades, that is, since the first recorded armed Drones attack in Afghanistan in 2001, The United States was keen to impose restrictions on the spread of this technology, and it tightened the requirements for exporting these planes in order to avoid them eventually falling into the hands of its opponents, to the extent that it refrained from exporting armed Drones even to its close allies except Italy and Britain.

But that has all changed in the last five years as China entered the club of fighter drones manufacturers, and unlike Washington, Beijing has been more welcoming the passing of cheap Druze technology - which was built primarily through the simulation of the American Drone - to many of the forces aspiring to own this exclusive technology, Including some Middle Eastern powers, led by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Emirates, Egypt, and Iraq, and coinciding with that many other powers were making a breakthrough in the field of manufacturing the Drones, led by Turkey, which is today the fourth power globally in this field, And Iran.

With the proliferation of unmanned aircraft technology and increasing its efficiency, governmental and non-governmental entities race to obtain and operate these aircraft, on the one hand (3) the production and maintenance of drones is much cheaper than the cost of ordinary jet aircraft and their pilots, as well as it comes with many operational and tactical advantages that exceed The advantages of combat aircraft, where drones can detect moving targets, fly over them for a long time and track them without being discovered before eventually hitting those targets, while also collecting valuable information while carrying out these operations.

And in the Middle East in particular, drones began to invade and occupy the inflamed skies since 2015 during operations against the "Islamic State" in Iraq and Syria, and later were used by the Saudi-Emirati coalition in the Yemen war, before the ownership of the Drones began to leak from the hands of Countries are in the hands of their militia agents, beginning with the Lebanese Hezbollah that runs the largest Drones arsenal owned by irregular militia in the world, passing by the Houthis in Yemen, and not by Haftar and his militia who started using drones to launch intensive air campaigns aimed at controlling For Libyan territory.

Despite this, Haftar and his regional allies were not the first to introduce the Druze into the Libyan skies. The American Druze were the first to occupy the Libyan skies since 2011 during the air campaign launched by NATO against the Qaddafi regime, and later during the American campaign against the "Islamic State" In Libya in 2016, before the Libyan parties began using drones in their efforts to establish control of the country and resolve the civil war with deadly force in the sky, an approach that was significantly strengthened during the battles of recent months with the drone flowing from regional herders to both sides of the Naza , Which made Libya deserving of the most crowded description "Heaven Baldrunz in the world."

The permissible atmosphere of Tripoli

Throughout its history, Libya has been the scene of American military interventions, especially from the air. The first American intervention in Libya dates back more than two centuries, specifically in 1804, when Washington decided to launch a naval invasion against Derna with the aim of changing the country's ruler Yusuf Pasha Al-Qarah Manli during the war known as "The first barbarian coast war," while the second intervention occurred during World War II when American forces were forced to intervene to restore eastern Libya from the hands of the German forces, so that the American army would assume control of Wels Air Force Base near Tripoli, before the Americans were expelled from Libya. In 1970, shortly after the control of Muammar Gaddafi to power.

However, the first air confrontation waged by the American forces in Libya had to wait until August 1981, when (4) American planes shot down two Su-22 "Su-22" Libyan aircraft near the Libyan coast in response to the Gaddafi regime's challenge to Washington and the extension Its territorial waters for 12 miles inside the Gulf of Sirte, and later in April 1986 the cities of Tripoli and Benghazi came under intense American bombing, during which the baby daughter of Gaddafi was killed and two of his sons were wounded in a retaliatory blow that came in response to a number of armed operations sponsored by the Gaddafi regime against American interests around the world .

By 2011, the US Air Force found its way to Libya again, and this time the method came within the framework of the operation "Dawn of Odessa" launched by Washington and NATO with the aim of imposing a no-fly zone over Libyan territory, coinciding with the demonstrations of the Arab Spring that Gaddafi suppressed unabated, and at that time witnessed Libyan airspace for the first time flying Drones into the country’s airspace after the US Air Force's Rapid Reconnaissance Squadron No. 324 entered the battle on March 25 of that year, armed with its MQ-1 Drones fleet known as the “Predator.” It was launched from the Naval Air Station In southern Italy Sigonella Chen first raids on a Gaddafi regime military targets in the city of Misrata.

Over the next six months, drone squadrons continued to fly from the Italian air base of the North African state in a massive and unprecedented campaign that saw (5) 234 Hellfire missiles launched from "predatory" aircraft, equivalent to more than 20% of The total number of missiles launched by the United States since it first deployed the system in 1997, including missiles launched on the hot battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan in the early 2000s.

The American air campaign has calmed down relatively after the overthrow of Gaddafi, but accelerated again (6) in 2016 with the Pentagon launching the "Odessa Lightning" operation, after the legitimate and nationally backed Libyan National Accord government requested the United Nations to assist Washington in expelling "IS" fighters in the city of Sirte, This prompted the Obama administration to design a new air campaign using the Drones in northern Libya, accompanied by a relaxation of US guidelines designed to protect civilians to give the Pentagon more freedom to carry out air strikes. As a result, between August and December of that operation, the United States carried out more than 500 air strikes, of which at least 60% were made using the most advanced MQ-9 drones known as the "Combine", accompanied by With the help of jet fighters, this number simply means that Washington used the bombing of drones in Sirte at a much higher rate than it did in the whole of Iraq and Syria over the same time period.

Other than that, the Sirte air campaign turned into a field of experiments to test new concepts and strategies for using unmanned aerial vehicles for urban combat purposes, where new offensive tactics were used and tested the efficiency of support missions for combatants fighting street fighting, as well as testing the Drones' work in harmony with combat helicopters Marine Corps "Marines", where the Drones were used to direct these conventional planes in a precedent, rarely occurred before in this wide range.

Simultaneously, the ability of "harvester" aircraft to fly for long hours has improved the efficiency, accuracy, and times of tracking, surveillance, and targeting missions, and as a result, the US Military Command in Africa (AFRICOM) estimated that between 800 and 900 ISIS fighters in Libya were killed. During the operation (just under seven months), the number of US air strikes begins to decline again as Obama's departure from the White House nears the end of 2016.

With the arrival of the new President Donald Trump to the White House, the number of American strikes in Libya witnessed a noticeable decrease, as the Americans launched only 27 air strikes during 2017, but this decrease in numbers does not only reflect the decrease in US air activity during the era of Trump, who announced from the first moment that His country should not have a role in Libya, but it also reflects the large blackout imposed by the Trump administration on its air strikes and the different way of calculating the number of strikes, whereby concurrent strikes are counted as one strike, for example, it is possible that one strike contains more than five concurrent strikes Memphis To him, and otherwise, and as observed by the New America Foundation, much of the essential information about places such as strikes starting strikes and the number of aircraft involved have become subject to a large blackout.

However, this quiet American activity was on a date with a noticeable awakening (7) last fall, and during the last ten days of last September, American air strikes killed 43 fighters of "Islamic State" affiliates in Libya through Drones attacks launched from American air bases in Niamey, Niger, equivalent to a third of the number of the organization's fighters there and is estimated at 150 fighters at the present time, and although these attacks are the first for America during the past year 2019, this low activity was not enough to protect it from the effects of the heated conflict on influence between The two sides of the Libyan Civil War, p J November last lost Abanntaon drone was unarmed flying in Libyan airspace, US officials believe it was shot down by Russian air defenses operated by militias "Hfter", or Russian military mercenaries who are fighting in the ranks.

Hifter Emirati aircraft

Until around late 2015, the use of drones in Libya remained a monopoly on the United States as we detailed, but things have changed significantly since the outbreak of the second Libyan civil war between the internationally recognized national reconciliation government led by Fayez al-Sarraj and its pro-Western factions and the militia of Haftar supported From the dissolved parliament in the eastern city of Tobruk, where the two warring parties began to search for a competent air force to support the activity of the wild militias, and the two parties (8) initially relied on the remnants of the traditional air fleet worn out by the Gaddafi regime, where they each possessed the equivalent of 15 Ta A fighter plane in addition to a number of transport planes, but it soon became clear that most of these planes lost their powers after the militia of Haftar lost a Russian-made MiG-21 and the Al-Wefaq government lost two French-made Mirage planes during the first months of the war.

And with the inability to obtain new aircraft to renew their fleets, the two sides exhausted a great effort in maintaining aging fleets affected by aging, but this situation changed with the end of 2016 when the UAE decided to throw its military weight in the war in support of Haftar, so (9) Abu Dhabi rebuilt the server base Air force in Al-Marj governorate in eastern Libya, with the deployment of Air Tractor attack aircraft, as well as Chinese-made Wing Long drones armed with anti-tank Blue Arrow (LJ-7) missiles with the aim of providing air cover for Haftar forces, while at the same time granting Some armed Drones for militia The Libyan general became one of the first (10) non-state actors to control their drones.

This small Emirati fleet of drones participated in aerial and reconnaissance missions to support the Haftar militia during its fight against “Islamic militants” in Benghazi in 2016 and Derna in 2018, but Tripoli remained relatively far from the air base established by the Emirates in eastern Libya, while the extent of The Chinese Drones were not allowed to fly this long distance, which made the impact of drones relatively limited in the battles Haftar fought against the Al-Wefaq government.

But that changed last year 2019, specifically in April, after Haftar and his supporters in Abu Dhabi, Cairo, and Paris decided to launch a military campaign to forcibly seize the capital, Tripoli, and the territories under the control of the legitimate government in Libya, where the Drones were used to launch air strikes in Wadi areas Rabea, al-Hirah, al-Aziziyah, and Ain Zara, but the watershed in the march of drone use in the Libyan war took place at the end of June, precisely with the forces loyal to the al-Wefaq government seizing the strategic city of Gharyan, 75 km south of the capital, Tripoli.

The loss of Gharyan was a symbolic blow and a strategic loss for Haftar and his forces, and represented a serious setback for his attempt to control Tripoli by force, as Gharyan was the most dynamic point in the Haftar logistics network, although it represented one of the two main supply lines for his militia in his attack on Tripoli. So after losing the city his ground forces became exclusively dependent on the remaining weak supply chain of Tarhuna, otherwise Gharyan was home to a small airport that played a decisive role in transporting weapons and equipment that could not be transported overland by air, so it was not surprising that the forces loyal to the Accord government discovered Gharyan had huge caches that included American-made anti-tank missiles acquired by Haftar from France, unlike other weapons that the Libyan General had acquired from his allies in Abu Dhabi.

So, Haftar Gharyan and his airport were used to provide quick supply lines for his forces in a way that could not be guaranteed across the slow overland tarhuna line, so the city’s loss was the beginning of the end for Haftar’s ground campaign, and with the Al-Wefaq government going to impose a siege on Tarhuna, it was only a matter of time until The Tripoli campaign officially fails with a shameful insult to Haftar, and as a result the Libyan general had to search for another way to impose his military power, transforming his strategy from a ground war to a fierce, foreign-backed air campaign aimed at imposing the greatest possible human and military costs on the National Accord government.

The new campaign was launched in the beginning of last July in the name of "the consequence of treachery", in conjunction with unconfirmed reports that Haftar obtained some units from the American "F-16", but what is certain is that Abu Dhabi provided (11) to the "Libyan National Army" what No fewer than 8 Chinese-made "Wing Long 1" drones, in addition to a number of other "Wing Long 2" aircraft, all of the medium - altitude long - endurance category, unlike some aircraft units Austrian drone "Skibel S-100" helicopter and an unknown number of Iranian "immigrant-2" aircraft, as well as drones managed by weapons units Eric Prince's mercenary atmosphere, operating in Libya with Emirati funding, has been operating most of these aircraft from the Al-Khadim Air Force Base and from other places closer to Tripoli, while evidence indicates the use of satellite technologies to allow the aircraft to be redirected remotely.

This Emirati support provided Haftar with remarkable air superiority during the first weeks of his new military campaign, while the devastating impact of this new war was evident from its early hours. On July 2, Emirati drones launched an air strike on an armed group affiliated to the National Accord Government, but the strike was mistaken Its target and hit a detention facility for migrants on the outskirts of Tripoli, killing at least 44 people and injuring 130 others.

Pride of Turkish industry

The evolving air capabilities obtained by Haftar from his allies, led by the UAE, caused a clear violation of the United Nations arms embargo to Libya, which caused the imbalance of power in the Libyan conflict in favor of Haftar and his militia at the expense of the internationally recognized Accord government, which has become isolated. Geographically, accompanied by the vast majority of the population of Libya, on a limited area of ​​land, so that they are all subjected to continuous and violent aerial bombardment supported by regional and international powers.

It was the realization of this deteriorating position of the Al-Wefaq government that ultimately prompted Turkey to bypass its conservative policy towards Libya and direct military support to Al-Wefaq, a support that included Ankara's supply of BMP Kirby armored trucks and air defense systems, the most important of the UAVs. Bayrakdar TP2 "whose participation in the conflict was first monitored in an air strike in Misurata on May 16 before being used more clearly after the Haftar campaign, and is believed to have played an important role in resolving matters in favor of the Al-Wefaq government in the decisive Gharian battles.

Bayrakdar is one of two locally manufactured Turkish Drones, along with the drone called "Anka". (12) The Bayrakdar fought its first flight from Sinop Airport on the Black Sea more than a decade ago in 2007, and since that The medium-sized double-armed aircraft then transformed into the backbone of the emerging Turkish Drones with its ability to fly at an altitude of more than 27,000 feet for a distance of 150 km and with a payload weighing 55 kilograms, and by the end of 2017 the Turkish stock of Bayrakdar had reached 94 aircraft - At least half of them are armed aircraft - operated by Six military and security units in the country, namely the army, air force, navy, gendarmerie, national intelligence, and the General Directorate of Security (Civil Police).

And early in 2016, Turkey began for the first time to use its fleet of Drones in military operations outside its borders, especially in Syria and Iraq, before Ankara decided recently to expand the scope of operating its drones to Libyan airspace, and according to the British Middle East Eye website, the first batch Of the Turkish Druze that were delivered in May (before the Gharyan battles) included 4 units of the Bayrakdar aircraft that were distributed between the air bases in Misurata and Mitega, but the forces loyal to the Accord Government did not have the technical expertise to operate them, so Ankara was forced to send local operators to manage operations The Unmanned airplanes there.

The move directly exposed Turkey to the side effects of the Libyan war, and on June 6, two Turkish operators were injured and two Bayrakdar planes were destroyed during an air raid in support of Haftar on the Mitega Air Force Base that it was likely that the Emirates carried out. The UAE air raid prompted Turkey to increase its military investments in Libya, including drones, to succeed the Turkish Druze in announcing its presence in the conflict again through a successful air raid in July targeting the Jafra air base of the Haftar militia and destroyed two Ukrainian heavy transport planes, By last November, Ankara had supplied the Al-Wefaq government with at least 12 Bayrakdar drones, all of which contributed to striking a balance of the conflict and helped bridge the air force gap between the Al-Wefaq government and the forces loyal to Haftar, the regionally backed country. Verse.

As a result of this mutual mobilization of the Drones on both sides of the conflict, drones became the main pillar of the conflict in Libya during the second half of last year, and according to the United Nations report on the conflict, since the start of the Tripoli battles, there have been around 1,100 air strikes in which the drone was used in Tripoli. Among them were Haftar and his forces), raids that varied between monitoring and tracking, strategic strikes against airports, weapons depots, and direct air support for units participating in urban combat, and these attacks, most of which caused Haftar, killed more than 280 civilians and displaced more than 140 thousand people, according to estimates by the United Nations.

The Drones then provided the two sides of the Libyan conflict, and their regional patrons, with different operating percentages, with an effective and relatively cheap way to resume the war and deal effective strikes for each other, taking advantage of the relative ease of obtaining it now, and the presence of many world powers - led by China - that showed interest in breaking a monopoly. The Americans use this type of weapon by selling cheap Drones to interested countries. A Chinese drone, for example, costs only about a million dollars, compared to 15 million dollars for its American counterpart. Iha of non-state actors, thereby refracting the monopoly of the actors of international air after the war. Nevertheless, reliance on drones alone has proven unsuccessful in achieving any strategic outcomes other than fueling the conflict and increasing civilian deaths.

While the Drones demonstrate efficiency that is increasing day by day in the process of gathering information, targeting and air strikes, it shows less efficiency in resolving direct military conflicts because of the restrictions imposed on their operation, especially in long-term missions. For example, it is believed that all drones used in the Libyan conflict have a range of only 150 km, which requires various actors to establish ground stations near the target bombing areas to extend half of the aircraft's operating radius, and this sometimes means the need to establish stations Airplanes are in the heart of opponent-controlled areas, which seem impossible and very difficult to do.

Otherwise, the operation of drones does not often come without consequences. For example, during the first weeks of the Libyan conflict, the parties to the conflict lost nearly 6 aircraft and a number of Wing Long aircraft either because of operational errors or because they were targeted by anti-aircraft, and with a small number The Drones available at the disposal of the Libyan factions and the difficulty of replacing them, this imposes restrictions on the number and permanence of sorties, and the target forces often realize the number of munitions the plane carries over time and often intend to hide themselves until they are sure that the portable bombs have been drained.

Parties to the Libyan conflict are seeking to obtain anti-Drones systems such as "surface-to-air" missiles provided by Russian mercenaries to Haftar, jamming systems and advanced laser weapons (apparently provided by Turkey to the Al-Wefaq government), in order to neutralize the impact of drones in conflicts, and in light of this The most likely scenario remains that neither of the two teams will be able to achieve a complete military victory on the ground relying on the armed Drones alone, and that most of what the continuous flow of these aircraft does is to bring a kind of limited air deterrence balance to the war that has been going on for more than 4 years, what Actually means Prolonging the war to an unpredictable extent, with serious consequences for civilians who lose their lives and homes as a side effect of death from the sky, in the absence of any looming political solution, so far.