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French Soldier Plays Chicken With Landing C-160 In Mali
Published 3 years ago
Footage reportedly out of Mali, Africa shows a French service member play it cool as he leisurely marks an improvised airstrip with colored smoke and VS-17 panel. The landing C-160 aircraft passes just over head before touching down.
France recently resumed joint military operations in Mali. It had suspended its mission there for a month when the West African nation plunged into its second coup in less than a year. The French military has had some sort of ongoing military anti terror operation in Mali since 2012, when the toppling of Libya destabilized the nation with an influx of Libyan military hardware and jihadist philosophies.
The development of the C-160 "Transall" goes back to 1959, and the aircraft has been fielded by France, Turkey, Germany, and South Africa. Over the years, the C-160 has received several avionics upgrades to keep it relevant in the contemporary airspace.
While France still has approximately 50 C-160 aircraft in service, they are being phased out by the more modern four-engine turbo prop Airbus A400M Atlas.