Analysis: Mali intervention highlights France's strategic airlift gap

The French intervention in Mali has highlighted the importance of a credible and resilient strategic airlift capability, particularly for operations in theatres that do not allow supply by sea or road.

Although France can boast one of the largest and most capable air forces in the world, it has had to rely on support from foreign allies and contractors to meet much of its fixed-wing transport requirement to ferry men and materiel to the West African country.

In addition to two Boeing C-17 Globemaster III aircraft provided by the UK and another Canadian C-17, the French military has had to charter two civilian-operated Antonov An-124 'Condors'. The US government has reportedly also offered additional airlift support to the operation, but while France is a NATO member it has not signed up to the alliance's Strategic Airlift Capability organisation, so does not have access to its three C-17 aircraft.

France does have a tactical fixed-wing transport force comprising five Lockheed Martin C-130H and nine C-130H-30 Hercules, about 40 Transall C.160, and seven Airbus Military CN235 platforms, but these are not capable of carrying much of the outsized cargo needed to conduct an operation such as the one in Mali.