Canadian fighter pilots ready to engage Libyan air force: minister

Defence Minister Peter MacKay says the pilots of six Canadian fighter-bombers dispatched to enforce a no-fly zone over Libya are prepared to engage the Libyan air force.

MacKay said the pilots and aircrew -- a total of 140 military personnel -- are well equipped and well trained, but the mission "isn't without risk."

Reports that an unidentified warplane was shot down on Saturday over the rebel stronghold of Benghazi indicate the Libyan air force is still active and a potential threat to Canada's CF-18 Hornets, he said.

MacKay, in Halifax to make a funding announcement, also said he saw the two Libyan air force jets that two defecting colonels had flown to Malta earlier this month. Both are single-seat, French-built Mirage F-1 fighter-bombers.

"We are aware of the state of the Libyan air force," MacKay told reporters at Canadian Forces Base Halifax.

Experts say enforcing the no-fly zone should not be difficult because Libya has an outdated air force that includes only a few dozen, poorly maintained aircraft. Some of them have been flying since the late 1960s.

As well, NATO members have experience successful enforcing no-fly zones over Bosnia in the early 1990s and over Kosovo in 1999.

On Thursday, the UN Security Council passed Resolution 1973, an international acknowledgment of the need to protect Libyan civilians against systematic violations of human rights and crimes against humanity.

As well, a decision was to be made Saturday to determine whether the Canadian fighter jets, fuelling aircraft and strategic airlift aircraft will be based in either Italy or France, he added.

"They will likely be based in Italy," the minister said. "We're still working through some of the contingency around where they will permanently set up operations."

The fighter jets took off from Canadian Forces Base Bagotville in Quebec on Thursday.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper and fellow world leaders gathered Saturday in Paris, where Canada endorsed immediate military action to stop Moammar Gadhafi's regime from attacking civilians and rebel forces in his country.

MacKay returned to Halifax late Friday after an overseas tour that took him to Malta, Afghanistan and a defence ministers meeting in Brussels.

"I may very well be on a plane tomorrow," MacKay said.

When asked if he would rather be in Paris with the prime minister, MacKay said: "I'm happy to be right here with you."

Meanwhile, the Canadian frigate HMCS Charlottetown, which left Halifax on March 2, is in Mediterranean awaiting clarification of its role within a NATO-led operation.

"The (ship) should be available to us, should we require it, for further evacuation purposes," MacKay said. "It will also serve as a staging ground for command and control for Canada in the region."

The ship, with 240 sailors aboard, is patrolling the waters north of the Libyan coast as part of Operation MOBILE.