PILOTS IN TURMOIL

Afghanistan, Iraq, Bosnia, Algeria, aviation is present on every battlefield. Yet the general public is never aware of the real conditions of these interventions. We talk about surgical precision, never about burr, betrayal or the amphetamines used by American pilots... Only the result counts. - Back from a mission in Afghanistan, two F16 pilots are bored. To pass the time, they choose an objective on the ground. Bavaria... they are allied troops. - Raid on Baalbek... By attacking a terrorist barracks in Lebanon, the Naval Air Force pilots realize they've been betrayed. A high-ranking official warned the enemy. Unthinkable and yet... - First attack against the Iraqis in the first Gulf War. French pilots arrive on the objective when they themselves are bombed by American planes. - In flight south of Agadir, a Moroccan pilot is shot down by Polisario rebels led by Algerian soldiers. It is the beginning of hell. - Falklands war. An Argentinian pilot achieves a feat: he sinks the destroyer Sheffield with a French missile... - Etc. This book gives a detailed account of air operations which did not take place as one would have wanted to make believe. By Jean-Pierre Otelli.