Mission Héraclès was a 2001 operation of the

French Navy The French Navy (, , ), informally (, ), is the Navy, maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the four military service branches of History of France, France. It is among the largest and most powerful List of navies, naval forces i ...

, in support of the

War in Afghanistan War in Afghanistan, Afghan war, or Afghan civil war may refer to: *Conquest of Afghanistan by Alexander the Great (330 BC – 327 BC), the conquest of Afghanistan by the Macedonian Empire * Muslim conquests of Afghanistan, a series of campaigns in ...

against the

Taliban , leader1_title = Supreme Leader of Afghanistan, Supreme leaders , leader1_name = {{indented plainlist, * Mullah Omar{{Natural Causes{{nbsp(1994–2013) * Akhtar Mansour{{Assassinated (2015–2016) * Hibatullah Akhundzada (2016–present) ...

. Its main tasks included the provision of security and order around Kabul as well as the training of the newly created

Afghan Army The Islamic National Army (, ), also referred to as the Islamic Emirate Army and the Afghan Army, is the land force branch of the Afghan Armed Forces. The roots of an army in Afghanistan can be traced back to the early 18th century when the Ho ...

. The French military actions in support of the Operation Enduring Freedom began as early as October 2001 when a group of liaison officers were sent to the United States Central Command (CENTCOM) in Florida to coordinate strategy against the Taliban. On 21 November 2001, France decided to send the aircraft carrier ''Charles de Gaulle'' to the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or approximately 20% of the water area of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia (continent), ...

in support of

Operation Enduring Freedom Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) was the official name used by the U.S. government for both the first stage (2001–2014) of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) and the larger-scale Global War on Terrorism. On 7 October 2001, in response ...

against

-controlled

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

. The vessel is the only non-US nuclear-powered aircraft carrier. Task Force 473, with 2,900 men under the command of

Contre-Amiral Counter admiral is a military rank used for high-ranking officers in several navies around the world, though the rank is not used in the English-speaking world, where its equivalent rank is rear admiral. The term derives from the French . Dependi ...

François Cluzel, sailed on 1 December. The task force was composed of ''Charles de Gaulle'', frigates , and , the nuclear

attack submarine An attack submarine or hunter-killer submarine is a submarine specifically designed for the purpose of attacking and sinking other submarines, surface combatants, and merchant vessels. In the Soviet Navy, Soviet and Russian Navy, Russian navies ...

, the tanker and the . The electronic surveillance vessel ''Bougainville'' was also part of the task force. Embarked air power comprised sixteen Super Étendards, one E-2C Hawkeye, two

Rafale The Dassault Rafale (, literally meaning "gust of wind", or "burst of fire" in a more military sense) is a French twin-engine, canard delta wing, multirole fighter aircraft designed and built by Dassault Aviation. Equipped with a wide range ...

Ms and several helicopters. The Super Étendards carried out their first missions above Afghanistan on 19 December, executing reconnaissance and bombing missions, covering over . Overall they carried out 140 missions, averaging 12 every day. USS Enterprise FS Charles de Gaulle

On 18 February 2002, a

Helios In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, Helios (; ; Homeric Greek: ) is the god who personification, personifies the Sun. His name is also Latinized as Helius, and he is often given the epithets Hyperion ("the one above") an ...

observation satellite spotted abnormal activities near

Gardez Gardez ( / ; ''Gardēz'', meaning "mountain fortress" in Middle Persian) is the capital of the Paktia Province of Afghanistan. The population of the city was estimated to be ca. 10,000 in the 1979 census and was estimated to be 70,000 in 2008. Th ...

. The next day, after

American Special Forces United States special operations forces (SOF) are the active and reserve component forces of the United States Army, United States Marine Corps, Marine Corps, United States Navy, Navy and United States Air Force, Air Force within the United Sta ...

in the region confirmed these observations, ''Charles de Gaulle'' launched two reconnaissance Super Étendards. On 20 February, coalition forces entered the valley and

Operation Anaconda Operation Anaconda or the Battle of Shah-i-Kot was a military operation that took place in early March 2002 as part of the War in Afghanistan. CIA paramilitary officers, working with their allies, attempted to destroy al-Qaeda and Taliban force ...

began in early March. In March, Super Étendards and six

Mirage 2000 The Dassault Mirage 2000 is a French multirole, single-engine, delta wing, fourth-generation jet fighter manufactured by Dassault Aviation. It was designed in the late 1970s as a lightweight fighter to replace the Mirage III for the French ...

aircraft carried out airstrikes against targets claimed to be

al Qaeda , image = Flag of Jihad.svg , caption = Jihadist flag, Flag used by various al-Qaeda factions , founder = Osama bin Laden{{Assassinated, Killing of Osama bin Laden , leaders = {{Plainlist, * Osama bin Lad ...

. A few targets suggested by US forces were denied out of fear of hitting civilians. Nevertheless, French involvement was complimented on 11 March 2002 by US President

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...

, who mentioned "our good ally, France, has deployed nearly one-fourth of its navy to support Operation Enduring Freedom".President Thanks World Coalition for Anti-Terrorism Efforts
, The White House, March 11, 2002. Retrieved December 31, 2006. At this point, the French air complement had been increased to 16 Super Étendards, 6 Mirage 2000 D, 5 Rafales, and two Hawkeye AWACS. From February, the air wings of ''Charles de Gaulle'' and landed on each other's decks as a means of strengthening the ties between the allies. On 2 May, ''Charles de Gaulle'' arrived in

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

for relief and returned to

Oman Oman, officially the Sultanate of Oman, is a country located on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in West Asia and the Middle East. It shares land borders with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. Oman’s coastline ...

on 18 May.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mission Heracles 2001 in the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) Military operations of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) involving France Naval operations and battles History of the French Navy