Over the past year and a half, the world's attention has been focused on the Middle East and North Africa. These regions have become key points where the global political and economic interests of the world's leading powers converge. Western countries, using mainly intelligence services, have been preparing in Libya for quite some time what is generally considered a coup in the civilized world. Libya “should” have repeated the relatively anemic scenarios of the “Arab Spring” in other countries in the region. And the failure of the so-called “rebels” at the initial stage of the Libyan conflict was to some extent unexpected for the organizers of the events (which, in fact, led to the military operation by NATO forces).

Operation Odyssey. Dawn" was carried out by the United States and its NATO allies from March 19 to October 31, 2011. Authorized by the UN Security Council, this operation included measures necessary to protect the civilian population of Libya during the confrontation between the rebels and the central government of M. Gaddafi, including military operations , with the exception of the entry of occupation troops, preventing a humanitarian catastrophe in Libya and neutralizing the threat to international security.

Military-political and military-technical aspects of the NATO war in Libya

It should be noted that the West may no longer rely solely on US leadership. While the United States continues to be much of the "indispensable power" it has been for the past 60 years, it is no longer enough to make international initiatives successful.

Countries with rapidly developing economies, primarily BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, China), which are expected to be able to pose an economic challenge to the West in this century, do not currently demonstrate the ability to political and diplomatic leadership. Thus, of the five states that abstained during the vote in the UN Security Council on resolution number 1976 regarding Libya, four are leaders in the group of states with new economies: Brazil, Russia, India, China.

In planning the operation, the factor of strategic surprise, from the point of view of the time of the start of hostilities, essentially did not play a special role due to the overwhelming superiority of the coalition forces. The planning of the operation was carried out by the headquarters of the Unified Command of the US Armed Forces in the African Zone, led by General Katrie Ham. Officers from the Armed Forces of Great Britain, France and other coalition countries were sent to the headquarters of the operation to coordinate joint actions. The main task, apparently, was not to conduct an air operation to block and isolate Libyan airspace, not to destroy or defeat the Libyan armed forces, as was the case during the operation in Yugoslavia and Iran, but to destroy the top leadership of Libya.

High effectiveness of air strikes with almost complete absence of opposition from Libyan air defense forces. The accuracy of determining the coordinates of targets, the efficiency of striking, and effective target designation could not be realized solely by space and aviation reconnaissance means alone. Therefore, a significant amount of tasks to support missile and air strikes, especially during close air support, were carried out with the participation of air controllers from units of the Special Operations Forces (SSO), so Russia needs to create its own forces.

NATO's experience in training rebels should be taken into account. If at the beginning of the conflict they were actually gatherings of untrained and weakly armed people who mostly shook the air with demonstrative shooting and continuously retreated, then after a couple of months they were able to turn the situation in the other direction. Available information allows us to assert that one of the main roles in such “transformations” was played by special forces from Great Britain, France, Italy, and the USA.

The weapons system used by the US and British coalition forces in Libya included types and samples of weapons and military equipment tested during previous military conflicts. To ensure the interaction of target reconnaissance systems and systems for their destruction, the latest means of communication, navigation and target designation were widely used. New radio communication means used in networks for exchanging intelligence information at the tactical level have shown high efficiency, making it possible for the first time in real combat operations to demonstrate the effectiveness of the automated generation of an electronic map of the tactical situation, unified for various command levels. In particular, for the first time, unified tactical terminals JTT-B were used in the platoon-company link and reconnaissance and search groups, which allow real-time display of data received via satellite and ground communication channels on an electronic map, displayed either directly on its own terminal , or on the screen of a laptop computer connected to it.

One of the features of combat operations in Libya was the large-scale use of guided weapon systems, the use of which was based on data received via real-time communication channels from the NAVSTAR CRNS, electronic and optical reconnaissance equipment.

A powerful American reconnaissance and electronic warfare aviation group was created, including Lockheed U-2 aircraft; RC-135 Rivet Joint, EC-130Y, EC-130J, EA-18G, electronic reconnaissance aircraft EP-3E, Boeing E-3F Centry, Grumman E-2 Hawkeye; EC-130J Commando Solo, Tornado ECR; Transall C-130 JSTARS and Global Hawk UAVs, P-3C Orion base patrol aircraft and KS-135R and KS-10A tanker aircraft. The latter were based at the following bases: Rota (Spain), Souda Bay and Middenhall (Great Britain).

As of March 19, the air group was represented by 42 tactical fighters F-15C Block 50, F-15E and F-16E, which were based at the air bases of Souda Bay (Crete) and Siganela (Sicily). Strike aircraft were also represented by AV-8B Harrier II attack aircraft, which operated from the deck of the Kearsarge universal landing ship (UDC) and the Suda Bay and Aviano bases (northern Italy). High accuracy of target designation made it possible to increase the share of guided ammunition use to 85%. To ensure the interaction of target reconnaissance systems and systems for their destruction, the latest means of communication, navigation and target designation were widely used. New radio communication tools used in tactical intelligence exchange networks have shown high efficiency, making it possible for the first time in real combat to demonstrate the effectiveness of the automated generation of an electronic map of the tactical situation for special forces of the US, British and French navies.

It should be noted that during the fighting, the concept of interfacing the information systems of NATO countries and the American command in the African zone found practical confirmation. Interaction between American, British, and Italian information systems was implemented, in particular, the reception of intelligence data from GR-4A Tornado aircraft (Great Britain) equipped with a RAPTOR container reconnaissance station and American means of receiving and processing intelligence information was realized.

Main types of weapons and military equipment used by the armed forces of the parties

US Navy, Air Force and NATO grouping:

USA and Norway - Operation Odyssey Dawn

US Navy:

Flagship (headquarters) ship "Mount Whitney",

UDC LHD-3 "Kearsarge" type "Wasp" with the 26th USMC Expeditionary Group on board,

DVKD LPD-15 “Ponce” type “Austin”,

URO destroyer DDG-52 "Barry" of the Orly Burke type,

Orly Burke-class guided missile destroyer DDG-55 “Stout”,

SSN-719 "Providence" Los Angeles-type submarine,

Scranton Los Angeles class submarine

SSBN SSGN-728 "Florida" type "Ohio"

US Navy Aviation:

5 carrier-based electronic warfare aircraft EA-18G

US Air Force:

3 B-2 strategic bombers,

10 F-15E fighter-bombers,

8 F-16C fighters,

2 HH-60 “Pave Hawk” rescue helicopters on board the “Ponce” DVKD,

1 EC-130J psychological operations aircraft,

1 EC-130H tactical command post,

1 strategic reconnaissance UAV "Global Hawk",

1 "gunship" AC-130U,

1 Lockheed U-2 high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft,

US Marine Corps:

26th Expeditionary Group,

4 VTOL AV-8B “Harrier II” on board the UDC “Kearsarge”,

2 Bell V-22 Osprey transport tiltrotors on board Kearsarge,

Norwegian Armed Forces:

2 military transport aircraft C-130J-30.

Coalition forces under direct US command:

Belgian Armed Forces:

6 F-16AM 15MLU “Falcon” fighters,

Danish Armed Forces:

6 F-16AM 15MLU “Falcon” fighters,

Italian Armed Forces:

4 electronic warfare aircraft “Tornado ECR”,

4 F-16A 15ADF “Falcon” fighters,

2 Tornado IDS fighter-bombers,

Spanish Armed Forces:

4 carrier-based fighter-bombers EF-18AM “Hornet”,

1 Boeing 707-331B(KC) refueling aircraft,

1 military transport aircraft CN-235 MPA,

Qatar Air Force:

6 Dassault “Mirage 2000-5EDA” fighters,

1 military transport aircraft C-130J-30,

France - Operation Harmattan

French Air Force:

4 Dassault Mirage 2000-5 aircraft,

4 Dassault Mirage 2000D aircraft,

6 Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker refueling aircraft,

1 AWACS aircraft Boeing E-3F “Sentry”,

1 electronic warfare aircraft "Transall" C-160,

French Navy:

Frigate D620 "Forbin",

Frigate D615 "Jean Bart"

Aircraft carrier group on the aircraft carrier R91 Charles de Gaulle:

8 Dassault “Rafale” aircraft,

6 Dassault-Breguet “Super Étendard” aircraft,

2 Grumman E-2 Hawkeye AWACS aircraft,

2 Aérospatiale AS.365 “Dauphin” helicopters,

2 Sud-Aviation “Alouette III” helicopters,

2 Eurocopter EC725 helicopters,

1 Sud-Aviation SA.330 “Puma” helicopter,

Frigate D641 "Dupleix",

Frigate F 713 "Aconit",

Tanker A607 "Meuse"

UK - Operation Ellamy

Royal Air Force:

6 Panavia Tornado aircraft,

12 Eurofighter "Typhoon" aircraft,

1 Boeing E-3 Sentry and 1 Raytheon “Sentinel” AWACS aircraft,

2 Vickers VC10 and Lockheed “TriStar” refueling aircraft,

2 Westland Lynx helicopters,

Royal Navy:

Frigate F237 "Westminster",

Frigate F85 "Cumberland",

Submarine S93 "Triumph".

Special Operations Forces:

22nd Parachute Regiment SAS

Canada - Operation Mobile

Canadian Air Force:

6 CF-18 Hornets

2 McDonnell Douglas C-17 "Globemaster III" transport aircraft, 2 Lockheed Martin C-130J "Super Hercules" and 1 Airbus CC-150 "Polaris"

Canadian Navy:

Frigate FFH 339 "Charlottetown",

1 Sikorsky CH-124 “Sea King” helicopter.

Types of NATO weapons and ammunition:

BGM-109 Tomahawk tactical cruise missiles, as well as the new Tomahawk Block IV (TLAM-E) missile;

Airborne KP "Storm Shadow";

Air-to-air missiles (AIM-9 “Sidewinder”, AIM-132 ASRAAM, AIM-120 AMRAAM, IRIS-T);

Air-to-surface missiles A2SM, AGM-84 Harpoon, AGM-88 HARM, ALARM, Brimstone, Taurus, Penguin, AGM-65F Maverick, Hellfire AMG-114N;

500-pound laser-guided bombs “Paveway II”, “Paveway III”, HOPE/HOSBO, UAB AASM, laser-guided bombs AGM-123; 2000-pound GBU-24 "Enhanced Paveway III" bombs, GBU-31B/JDAM.

Gaddafi's army:

Tanks: T-55, T-62, T-72, T-90;

Armored combat vehicles: Soviet BTR-50, BTR-60, BMP-1, BRDM-2, American M113, South African EE-9, EE-11, Czech OT-64SKOT;

Artillery: 120-mm self-propelled gun 2S1 "Gvozdika", 152-mm 2SZ "Akatsiya", towed 122-mm howitzer D-30, D-74, 130-mm field gun M1954 and 152-mm howitzer ML-20, Czech 152- mm self-propelled howitzer vz.77 Dana, American 155 mm M109 and 105 mm M101, Italian 155 mm self-propelled gun Palmaria;

Mortars: 82 and 120 mm calibers;

Multiple launch rocket systems: Toure 63 (Chinese production), BM-11, 9K51 Grad (Soviet production) and RM-70 (Czech production).

Anti-tank weapons: missile systems “Malyutka”, “Fagot”, RPG-7 (Soviet production), MILAN (Italian-German).

Some types of weapons of the armed forces of Western countries were used for the first time in combat conditions in Libya. For example, the nuclear-powered cruise missile submarine Florida (converted from an SSBN) took part in combat operations for the first time. The Tomahawk Block IV tactical cruise missile (TLAM-E) was also tested against a real target for the first time. For the first time, advanced means of delivering combat swimmers - the Advanced SEAL Delivery System (ASDS) - were used in real conditions.

For the first time in combat in Libya, one of the most advanced aircraft of the Western air forces was tested - the multi-role fighter Eurofighter "Typhoon" of the British Air Force.

EF-2000 "Typhoon" is a multi-role fighter with a front horizontal tail. Combat range: in fighter mode 1,389 km, in attack aircraft mode 601 km. Armament includes a 27 mm Mauser cannon mounted in the root of the right wing, air-to-air missiles (AIM-9 Sidewinder, AIM-132 ASRAAM, AIM-120 AMRAAM, IRIS-T), air-to-air missiles air-to-surface" (AGM-84 Harpoon, AGM-88 HARM, ALARM, Storm Shadow, Brimstone, Taurus, Penguin), bombs (Paveway 2, Paveway 3, Enhanced Paveway, JDAM, HOPE/HOSBO). A laser target designation system is also installed on the aircraft.

RAF Tornado fighters carried out attacks with Storm Shadow cruise missiles. The planes traveled 3,000 miles round trip, operating from bases in the UK. This makes the raid by British aircraft the longest since the war with Argentina over the Falkland Islands in 1982.

On March 29, the heavily armed AC-130U “gunship” support aircraft for ground units was used for the first time in combat conditions.

The US and NATO militaries have used depleted uranium munitions. Depleted uranium ammunition was used mainly during the first day of the operation in Libya. Then the Americans dropped 45 bombs and fired more than 110 missiles at key Libyan cities. In high temperature conditions, when a target is hit, the uranium material turns into steam. This vapor is poisonous and can cause cancer. It is still impossible to determine the real scale of damage to Libya’s environment. After NATO used concrete-piercing uranium bombs, areas with an increased (by several times) radioactive background arose in northern Libya. This will have the most serious consequences for the local population.

On May 1, at least 8 volumetric detonating bombs were dropped on Tripoli. Here we are talking about the use of thermobaric, or “vacuum”, weapons in Libya, the use of which in populated areas is limited by international conventions. These munitions are not designed to destroy deep bunkers and heavily defended sites; they effectively destroy only civilians and openly stationed troops. But the paradox is that vacuum bombs were almost never used against regular army soldiers.

Aspects of information warfare

Analysis of information warfare activities allows us to identify a number of its characteristic features and features. The information war of the allied forces against Libya can be divided into five stages. The main event is the influence of information warfare on the plan and strategy in the conditions of the assault on Tripoli.

During first stage, even before the phase of open armed clashes, the images of “us” and “them” were formed and strengthened, and attention was focused on ideological symbols that justify direct impact. At this stage, the possibility of a peaceful solution to the problem, which in reality was unacceptable for both sides, was promoted in order to attract public opinion to their side. Psychological operations were carried out with high intensity both in the interests of forming the necessary public opinion among the Libyan population and processing the personnel of the Libyan Armed Forces.

On October 31, 2011, in an interview on Radio Canada, Lieutenant General Charles Bouchard, who led Operation Unified Protector in Libya, said that an analytical unit had been created at NATO headquarters in Naples. His mission was to study and decipher everything that was happening on the ground, that is, monitoring the movements of both the Libyan army and the “rebels.”

To strengthen this unit, several information networks were created. “Intelligence came from many sources, including the media, which was on the ground and gave us a lot of information about the intentions and dispositions of ground forces.”. For the first time, NATO admitted that official foreign journalists in Libya were agents of the Atlantic Alliance. Shortly before the fall of Tripoli, Thierry Meyssan openly stated that most of the Western journalists staying at the Rixos Hotel were NATO agents. In particular, he pointed to groups working for the AP (Associated Press), the BBC, CNN and Fox News.

The incident that supposedly triggered the Libyan "rebellion" was the arrest of a lawyer-activist on February 15, 2011. This sparked a wave of protests that spilled over into the Internet and the media. But the unusually high number of YouTube videos and Twitter posts were uncannily similar and looked like yet another blatant Pentagon project to develop software that could secretly control public news sites to influence online conversations and spread propaganda.

Despite their dubious origins, professional media groups such as CNN, BBC, NBC, CBS, ABC, Fox News Channel, and Al Jazeera have accepted these anonymous and unverified videos as legitimate news sources.

On second stage with the beginning of missile and bomb strikes, the main emphasis of the information war was transferred to the operational-tactical level. The main components of the information war at this stage were information and propaganda campaigns, electronic warfare, and the disabling of elements of civil and military infrastructure. An EC-130J Commando Solo aircraft, designed for “psychological warfare,” began broadcasting messages in English and Arabic to the Libyan military: “Libyan sailors, leave the ship immediately. Throw down your weapons, go home to your families. Troops loyal to the Gaddafi regime are violating the UN resolution demanding an end to hostilities in your country.". Many such examples can be given. And each of them is evidence that the parties “leaked” information with the opposite meaning to the media, seeking to maximally discredit their opponent. However, Gaddafi's army never shared its successes with the audience, did not seek sympathy for its losses, and did not give a single reason to lift the veil of secrecy regarding its condition.

When the conflict entered a long phase (more than a month from April 1 to July), third a stage that changes the forms of information warfare. The task of this stage is to convict the enemy of morally unacceptable forms of conflict, as well as to attract new allies to one’s side.

To a small extent, NATO has been developing technology to combat computer networks. Often, the warring parties (NATO and Libya) used the same techniques: they downplayed their losses and exaggerated the extent of the enemy’s damage. In turn, the Libyan side inflated the numbers of losses among the local population.

At the same time, the destruction of Libya did not prevent NATO from using radio and television for a month and a half to transmit its propaganda materials. As part of information and propaganda campaigns, radio and television broadcasts were carried out to Libya from the territory of neighboring countries. To increase the clarity of these radio broadcasts, VHF radios with a fixed reception frequency were scattered over the territory of Libya. In addition, propaganda leaflets were constantly scattered from the air, due to the general illiteracy of the Libyan population, the leaflets were mainly of a graphic nature (comics, posters, drawings, playing cards with portraits of Libyan leaders). Both sides resorted to disinformation in an attempt to sow panic.

The information war strategy even allowed for the use of provocations or manipulation of facts in the second and third stages. It is not surprising that television has become the main attacking force in information wars both at the level of international relations and during the “highway war” itself. Thus, before the outbreak of hostilities, the presidents of France and England appealed to journalists not to publish in the press details of the preparation of NATO armed forces for combat operations and, in general, to try to treat coverage of NATO plans as the actions of the European Union “to support a humanitarian mission to help the population of this country”. Television has once again proven that it is much better than other media at interpreting reality, forming a picture of the world, and the stronger the brand of a television channel, the larger its audience, the higher the trust in it, and the more channels present a similar interpretation of events, the The image of reality they modeled acquires greater power.

Fourth stage (August-September) - assault on Tripoli. The main event in the information war during the assault on Tripoli is considered to be the showing by Al-Jazeera and CNN of footage of the “victory” of the rebels, filmed in Qatar. These shots were the signal to attack for the rebels and saboteurs. Immediately after these broadcasts, rebel “sleeper cells” throughout the city began setting up roadblocks and breaking into command posts and apartments of officers who had not betrayed Gaddafi.

The easiest way to manipulate information is to keep journalists away from the events themselves, feeding the press with official reports and video footage received from military personnel armed with laptops and mobile phones with built-in photo and video cameras. Another technique is based on the use of visual media of film and television: among selected military operational footage or images from reconnaissance aircraft and satellites shown at press briefings in the press center during the war in Libya, where, of course, there were no “bad” shots.

Footage of the “opposition army” in Benghazi was kindly provided to Russian television viewers by Channel 1 special correspondent in Benghazi Irada Zeynalova. Several dozen differently dressed young men tried to march on the parade ground (despite all the efforts of the cameraman to compose the frame so that the number of “marching” seemed significant, he was unable to place more than 2-3 dozen people in the frame so that the flanks were not visible). Another 20 older people ran around the anti-aircraft gun (a constant character in all photographs and television filming of the “opposition forces”), showed a machine gun belt and said that they had not only the old (and rusty) weapons shown, but also the latest equipment.

One nondescript colonel was also demonstrated, named the commander-in-chief of the rebels (the number of whom, judging by the report, cannot exceed hundreds) and the main opponent of “Colonel Gaddafi.” The RTR special group performed in the same style. Evgeny Popov in the morning episode (03/05/11, 11:00) showed an “army of rebels” setting out to storm Ras Lanuf. At the general prayer before the battle, there were about two dozen people in its ranks.

In the early days of the war, a Roman Catholic Church spokesman said at least 40 civilians were killed in Tripoli by airstrikes by coalition forces in Libya. But Vice Admiral William Gortney, a representative of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the American Armed Forces, hypocritically stated that the coalition had no information about civilian casualties.

In a new development in the information war, NATO frigates dropped depth charges on a fiber optic cable laid 15 nautical miles off the coast of Libya in order to disrupt telecommunications links between Sirte, Gaddafi's hometown, and Ras Lanuf, where one of the largest oil refineries is located. factories of the country. There were significant disruptions in communications and telecommunications in the Jamahiriya.

The provocative role of modern media

Since the 1990s of the last century, with the concentration of the media in the hands of a few media groups, they quickly turned from channels of information and reflection of public opinion into channels of zombification and manipulation. And it doesn’t really matter what they are guided by - whether they fulfill a social order, simply earning their bread and butter, or do it out of thoughtlessness or because of their idealism - objectively they are shaking up the situation and weakening society.

Journalists have lost even the semblance of objectivity in the Libyan events. In this regard, Benjamin Barber of the Huffington Post asked: “Are Western media in Libya journalists or a propaganda tool for the uprising?”

The portrayal of a hodgepodge of monarchists, Islamic fundamentalists, London and Washington exiles and defectors from Gaddafi’s camp as a “rebellious people” is pure propaganda. From the very beginning, the “rebels” were entirely dependent on the military, political, diplomatic and media support of the NATO powers. Without this support, the mercenaries trapped in Benghazi would not have lasted even a month.

The NATO bloc organized an intensive propaganda campaign. The orchestrated media campaign went far beyond the liberal circles usually involved in such actions, convincing “progressive” journalists and their publications, as well as “left-wing” intellectuals, to present the mercenaries as “revolutionaries.” Propaganda spread lurid images of government troops (often depicting them as “black mercenaries”), painting them as rapists taking massive doses of Viagra. Meanwhile, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch testify that before the start of NATO bombing in eastern Libya, there were no mass rapes, no helicopter attacks or bombing of peaceful demonstrators by Gaddafi's forces. What was certain was that 110 people died on both sides during the unrest in Benghazi. As we can see, all these stories were fabricated, but they were the reason for establishing a no-fly zone and NATO’s attack on Libya.

The main lessons of the war in Libya for Russia

The Libyan war once again showed that international law will be violated at any time if the leading Western states consider it advisable to take such a step. Double standards and the principle of force have become the rule in international politics. Military aggression against Russia is possible in the event of a maximum weakening of its economic, military and moral potential, and a lack of readiness among citizens of the Russian Federation to defend their Motherland. The United States and NATO have a “narrow specialization” in authorizing bombing and “solving” complex international issues by making them more complicated. According to the convictions of the United States and NATO, everything must be restored by others.

The conclusions from the Libyan events are as follows.

The speed of development of an unfavorable military-political situation may significantly outstrip the speed of creating a new Russian army and modern weapons.

Events in the Middle East have shown that the principle of force is becoming the main principle of international law. Therefore, any country must think about its security.

France returned to the NATO military organization, once again creating a system of Franco-British privileged partnership, and Germany placed itself outside the Atlantic context.

In the aerospace operation, the US and NATO are unable to solve the problems of ground operations of the rebels, the war was waged by the “natives”, and the alliance limited itself to air operations.

NATO's use of large-scale information-psychological operations and other information warfare activities against Libya, not only at the strategic, but also at the operational and tactical levels. The role of information and psychological operations is no less important than the conduct of air and special operations.

Military operations showed that M. Gaddafi’s army was able to fight for nine months against the United States and NATO, against the rebels from Al-Qaeda, despite total information suppression and the presence of a “fifth column.” And all this is practically only Russian (and Soviet) weapons. This is an incentive for the sale of Russian weapons.

The main lessons of the Libyan campaign for the construction of Russian armed forces

First. The theory of using modern air forces, navies and special forces, information-psychological, and cyber operations in future armed conflicts requires a radical revision.

Second. The opinion of Western experts should be taken into account that the combined use of air operations and a limited number of special forces will become the basis of military operations for the next ten years. Apparently, by the decision of the president, it is necessary to create, as a branch of the military, a separate Special Operations Command (SOC). The Special Operations Command will include special forces, information and psychological troops, units and units of cyber troops.

There are such possibilities. In the USC "South", "West", "Center", "East" it is necessary to create conditions for conducting combat operations in certain directions. Unfortunately, some of the special forces brigades and underwater sabotage forces have either been abolished or are planning to be abolished. The decisions of the Ministry of Defense previously adopted in this regard require reconsideration. It is necessary to re-form brigades, detachments, special-purpose companies similar to the GRU, and units of underwater saboteurs in the fleets.

It is necessary to revive training for conducting information and psychological operations at the strategic level in the General Staff, at the operational level in operational-strategic commands, at the tactical level in divisions and brigades.

Third. The experience of combat operations in Libya has once again shown that the final results achieved on the battlefield were completely distorted in information wars.

Obviously, by decision of the President of the Russian Federation, special organizational, managerial and analytical structures should be formed to counter information aggression. It is necessary to have information troops, which will include state and military media. The goal of the Information Troops is to form the information picture of reality that Russia needs. Information troops work for both external and internal audiences. Information Troops personnel are selected from among diplomats, experts, journalists, cameramen, writers, publicists, programmers (hackers), translators, communications officers, web designers, etc. They clearly explain to the world community the essence of Russian actions in a language popular in the world and form a loyal public opinion.

Information troops must solve three main tasks:

The first is strategic analysis;

The second is information impact;

The third is information counteraction.

They could include the main components currently located in various Ministries, Councils, and Committees. Actions in the foreign policy media space must be coordinated.

To solve the first task, it is necessary to create a center for strategic analysis of control networks (entry into networks and the possibility of suppressing them), counterintelligence, develop measures for operational camouflage, ensuring the security of one’s own forces and assets, and ensuring the security of information.

To solve the second task, it is necessary to create an anti-crisis center, a state media holding for relations with television channels and news agencies to solve the main task - supplying the information Russia needs to television channels and news agencies. They involve state media, public relations structures, and training journalists for applied journalism, military press, international journalists, radio and television journalists.

To solve the third task, it is necessary to create a center for identifying the enemy’s critical information structures and methods of combating them, including physical destruction, electronic warfare, psychological operations, and network operations involving “hackers.”

Fourth. Russia should no longer conduct military exercises solely to combat terrorism. I think it is necessary to organize maneuvers with the armed forces of border countries. Train troops to operate in situations that could actually develop in these states.

Fifth. Considering that NATO used new weapons based on new physical principles in the war against Libya, which led to radioactive contamination of the territory by uranium, Russia, as a nuclear power, should initiate a UN decision to permanently ban the use of weapons using uranium, as well as other new types of weapons , which were not at one time prohibited by international treaties for the reason that they did not yet exist at that time.

Sixth. One of the important conclusions from the analysis of NATO air-ground operations is that unmanned aerial vehicles must conduct constant surveillance of the battlefield, provide target reconnaissance and aircraft guidance.

The war in Libya has once again shown that the absolutization of military force does not eliminate the need to solve political problems, but, on the contrary, pushes them back in time and aggravates them into new contradictions. Almost everywhere where the US and NATO use military force, problems are not solved, but rather created. Thus, the military action of the United States and NATO against Libya should be considered as the clearest manifestation in recent years of the military-political course of the United States and NATO, expressed in the forceful subordination of “rebellious” Libya, in violation of all norms of international law. There is no doubt that in the near future the leadership of these countries will not fail to again use proven “technologies of influence” against states disliked by the West.

The main event of the week was the start of the Western military operation against Libya. At night, the first airstrikes were carried out on the infrastructure of this North African country, and the bombing continues. As has happened more than once in recent history, NATO countries are acting under the guise of a UN Security Council resolution and humanistic slogans about the inadmissibility of suppressing armed rebellions using military force inside Libya.

The situation around Libya has been heating up all week - the government troops of the condemned Muammar Gaddafi have almost regained control over the country, and then European leaders sounded the alarm: we have already declared that the bloody Libyan leader is outlawed, and he is returning to power. And so, in order to prevent such injustice, it was decided to bomb Libya.

So-called targeted airstrikes are becoming the main weapon of world humanism - the example of Libya clearly demonstrated all the philanthropic aspirations of both Nobel Peace Prize laureate Barack Obama and the famous peacemaker Nicolas Sarkozy. Experts say that the victims of the bombings will far exceed the number of victims of the civil war in Libya.

In order to get an idea of ​​what is happening in Libya now, in conditions of total disinformation, it is enough to simply call a spade a spade. The aggression of the leading world powers against a sovereign country began with the approval of the UN Security Council: 10 in favor with 5 abstentions. The hastily adopted resolution is an example of all kinds of violations of international law. Formally, the goal of the military operation against Colonel Gaddafi is to protect the civilian population; in reality, it is to overthrow the legitimate government of a still independent state.

Of course, no one absolves the Libyan leader of responsibility for his 40 years of, to put it mildly, extravagant rule. His endless wanderings, irrepressible ambitions, expressed in support of national liberation movements of a terrorist nature, his provocative speeches at international forums - all this has long turned him into a political outcast. However, much more serious reasons were needed to start the war. Gaddafi’s refusal to agree with France on the supply of modern weapons to Libya and his reluctance to privatize his oil industry are what may be behind such a sudden war.

The final decision to launch a military operation against Libya was made on March 19 in Paris. Nicolas Sarkozy, who at the beginning of the week was accused by Gaddafi's son of receiving money from Libya for the election campaign, by Saturday was already trying on the Napoleonic cocked hat of the conqueror of North Africa. Despite the harsh rhetoric, the United States readily gave the lead in this highly dubious endeavor to the French president.

From the moment the first French bomb fell on Libyan territory, no one will question what the Security Council meant when it included in resolution 19-73 the phrase authorizing “all measures for the protection of the civilian population.” From now on there is only one measure - bomb. It doesn’t matter that for some reason a ceasefire was demanded only from the Libyan authorities, thereby leaving the armed rebels the opportunity to settle scores with Gaddafi under the cover of Western bombs. It is unlikely that anyone will remember in the near future that the resolution did not take into account the interests of the majority of Libyans loyal to the authorities. Moreover, the text of the Resolution indicates that the Security Council does not consider this part of the population at all to be the people of Libya in need of protection.

The fact that the Resolution does not spell out a mechanism for monitoring Gaddafi’s fulfillment of the demands placed on him indicates that no one was seriously interested in the Libyan authorities’ readiness to compromise. But he was ready. On the evening of March 19, Russia, which abstained from voting for the resolution in the Security Council, expressed regret over the outbreak of war. “We firmly proceed from the inadmissibility of using the mandate arising from Security Council Resolution 19-73, the adoption of which was a very controversial step, to achieve goals that clearly go beyond the scope of its provisions, which provide for measures only to protect the civilian population,” said a representative of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Alexander Lukashevich. India and China have already joined Russia’s position

The obvious successes of the Libyan army in suppressing the armed rebellion forced them to hurry not only with the adoption of the resolution. The capture by Gaddafi's troops of the so-called capital of the rebels, the city of Benghazi, could confuse all the cards. It is much easier to start aggression, acting as a savior. More difficult - like the Avenger. The resolution, obviously to please the Arab world, does not yet allow ground operations by the Western allies. However, this is deceit and sooner or later the coalition troops, under one or another, most likely a peacekeeping pretext, will be forced to invade Libyan territory. There are already two coalition landing ships off the Libyan coast, and their number should increase significantly in the coming days.

The beginning of a military campaign implies the intensification of information warfare. To ensure that no one has any doubts about the legality of the aggression, in order to hide the real scale of what is happening, all media resources will now be used. Local information battles waged with the Gaddafi regime over the past month will now turn into a continuous propaganda front line. Stories about hundreds of thousands of refugees from the bloodthirstiness of a dying regime, materials about death camps and mass graves of Libyan civilians, reports about a courageous and desperate struggle, doomed defenders of free Benghazi - this is what the average person will know about this war. The real civilian casualties that are inevitable during bombing will be hushed up so that over time they will be included in abstract lists of so-called “collateral losses.”

Next week will mark 12 years since the start of a similar NATO peacekeeping operation in Yugoslavia. So far, events are developing as if they were a carbon copy. Then an ultimatum demanding the withdrawal of troops was presented to Milosevic precisely at the moment when only a few days remained before the complete destruction of Albanian militant units in Kosovo by the Yugoslav army. Under the threat of immediate bombing, the troops withdrew. However, airstrikes were not long in coming. Then they lasted 78 days.

For now, NATO has formally distanced itself from the war in Libya, leaving its members to decide for themselves how far they are willing to go. It is quite obvious that the skies closed by the allies and air support for the rebels will sooner or later turn Gaddafi’s military operation to restore order in the country into a banal massacre. French or British pilots will observe all this from a bird's eye view, occasionally striking at concentrations of armed people and equipment on the ground. This also happened in Yugoslavia, but during the civil massacre in 1995.

The war has already begun. It’s hard to guess how long it will last. One thing is clear: Gaddafi is doomed to join Milosevic and Hussein sooner or later. However, now something else is important: how will the authorities of other states in the rebellious region perceive this trend? In fact, in order to protect themselves from the “triumph of freedom”, they are left with only two possible ways. The first is to speed up our own nuclear programs in one way or another. The second is to actively create or mobilize terrorist networks on the territories of democracy-importing states. The story of paying for Nicolas Sarkozy's election campaign is evidence of how Arab money can work in Europe. If they can do it this way, then they can probably do it differently.

An international military operation has begun in Libya. Over the past night, military aircraft from France, Great Britain, the United States, Denmark, with the participation of military forces from Italy, Spain, Germany and Canada, carried out air raids on military installations in Libya. Qatari aviation is also joining the operation. In response to the bombing and shelling, the Libyan leader promises to strike NATO bases in the Mediterranean Sea. He promised the coalition participants a protracted war in Libya. Gaddafi is sure that the goal of Western countries is Libyan oil. However, Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein made the same statements 8 years ago. It is noteworthy that the international military operation “Fear and Trembling” in Iraq began to the same day eight years ago - on March 20, 2003.

France. Saint-Dezier airbase. On Saturday at 19-00 Moscow time, twenty fighters took off from here. This became the starting point for an international military operation in Libyan airspace.

Just an hour earlier, in Paris, the decision to carry out the operation was supported by all the leaders of the EU, the League of Arab States and the African Union. This Emergency Summit was convened by French President Nicolas Sarkozy. For Paris, this is a chance to renew its influence on the countries of Africa and the East.

(Total 23 photos)

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1. Exploding cars of supporters of Muammar Gaddafi during an air raid by coalition forces. The photo was taken on the road from Benghazi to Ajdabiyah on Sunday, March 20. Overnight from Saturday to Sunday, military aircraft from France, Great Britain, the USA, Denmark, with the participation of the military forces of Italy, Spain, Germany and Canada, carried out air raids on military targets in Libya. Qatari aviation is also joining the operation. (Goran Tomasevic / Reuters)

2. Libyan rebels with a flag on a destroyed government tank on the outskirts of the city of Benghazi on March 20. (Patrick Baz/AFP - Getty Images)

3. An RAF VC10 passenger jet and a Tristar aerial tanker, along with RAF Typhoon and Tornado fighters, departed for Libya. British Prime Minister Cameron said: "Military action in Libya is necessary, legal and correct." (SAC Neil Chapman / MOD via AP)

4. The explosion of a tank belonging to Libyan government forces during an airstrike by coalition forces on the road between the Libyan cities of Benghazi and Ajdabiyah on March 20. (Goran Tomasevic / Reuters)

5. A Libyan rebel empties the pockets of a black teenage soldier from Gaddafi's forces, who was killed during an airstrike by French fighters in the village of al-Wayfiyah, located 35 kilometers from Benghazi. (Patrick Baz/AFP - Getty Images)

6. An F-18 fighter jet flies over a NATO air base in Aviano, Italy, on Sunday, March 20. (Luca Bruno/AP)

7. A representative of anti-government forces stands next to a burning Gaddafi truck after a coalition airstrike on the road between the Libyan cities of Benghazi and Ajdabiyah on March 20. (Goran Tomasevic / Reuters)

8. A representative of the rebel forces shoots into the air on the outskirts of Benghazi, standing against the backdrop of burning military equipment after a strike by French fighters. More than 90 people became victims of clashes near the city of the largest rebel stronghold, the city of Benghazi, in less than two days. (Finbarr O'Reilly / Reuters)

9. Shelling of Libyan territory with cruise missiles from American warships in the Mediterranean Sea on March 19. In total, according to the military of the Western coalition, more than 110 Tomahawk missiles were fired at Libya. (US Navy via Reuters)

10. A woman supporting Muammar Gaddafi during a protest rally by his supporters, which took place in Tripoli on March 19. Thousands of supporters of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi gathered on Saturday at Tripoli International Airport, as well as in the Bab al-Aziziya area of ​​Gaddafi's capital residence, to prevent the bombing of these objects by foreign coalition forces. (Zohra Bensemra/Reuters)

11. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton greets French President Nicolas Sarkozy before the start of the crisis summit on Libya, which was held in Paris at the Elysee Palace on March 19. The summit of the heads of Europe, the United States and Arab states took place last Saturday in the French capital. At the meeting, a decision may be made to launch a military operation against the forces of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. (Franck Prevel/Getty Images)

12. In this photo provided by the French Ministry of Defense, a French Rafale fighter jet can be seen taking off from the French military base in Saint-Dizier on March 19. On Saturday, French Air Force Mirage and Rafale fighters in the skies over Libya were ready to launch the first strikes against the armored vehicles of the forces of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. (Sebastien Dupont / French Minist / EPA)

13. Hundreds of packed cars left the Libyan city of Benghazi on March 19 after airstrikes carried out by Muammar Gaddafi's troops on the city. People are traveling to the east of the country, to the border with Egypt. On Saturday, March 19, tanks were brought into the city of Benghazi, a stronghold of the Libyan opposition, and the outskirts were subjected to rocket and artillery fire. (Reuters TV/Reuters)

14. Libyan rebels stand in front of burning cars after Gaddafi's forces were repulsed in an attempt to take Benghazi on March 19. (Anja Niedringhaus/AP)

FOREIGN MILITARY REVIEW No. 4/2011, pp. 102-103

Details

NATO OPERATION COLLECTIVE PROTECTOR IN LIBYA

The Alliance commenced full range of land and sea operations in Libya on 31 March 2011 under Operation Shared Protector, which "transferred fully to NATO command from national commanders on 31 March at 0600 GMT."

Great Britain - three ships and a submarine, about 50 combat aircraft, including Tornado, Typhoon, Nimrod, Sentinel, and more than 10 tanker aircraft.

Turkey - five ships and a submarine (the country has completely refused to participate in air operations in Libya, but maintains a naval blockade of the coast).

Italy - 15 ships, including the AVL "Giuseppe Garibaldi", EM URO "Andrea Doria" DVKD "San Marco" and "San Giorgio", about 30 combat aircraft, in particular "Typhoon", "Tornado", "Harrier".

Belgium - ship, six F-16 combat aircraft.

Greece - two ships.

Denmark - six F-16 combat aircraft.

Spain - the ship and submarine Tramontana, five F-18 combat aircraft and a tanker aircraft.

Canada - ship and nine combat aircraft, including CF-18, CP-140A.

Norway - six F-16 combat aircraft.

Poland - ship (ShK "Rear Admiral K. Chernicki").

In addition, the UAE was ready to provide 12 fighters of various types to the alliance grouping for the operation “Joint Defender”, Qatar - six combat aircraft, Sweden, if the government’s decision is approved by parliament - eight combat aircraft, a tanker aircraft and a reconnaissance aircraft, and Romania planned to transfer one frigate to the force.

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The problems and contradictions of North Africa, the war in Libya, and analysis of the processes taking place in this area are still in the spotlight of the world community. And this is justified, now in this region the course of world politics is largely determined for the years to come, due to which the analysis of the processes that accompanied the development of the war in Libya is extremely relevant. Well-known expert Anatoly Tsyganok discusses this on the pages of the Russian Arms news agency.” >

11:44 / 13.01.12

NATO war in Libya: analysis, lessons

The problems and contradictions of North Africa, the war in Libya, and analysis of the processes taking place in this area are still in the spotlight of the world community.

And this is justified, now in this region the course of world politics is largely determined for the years to come, due to which the analysis of the processes that accompanied the development of the war in Libya is extremely relevant. Well-known expert Anatoly Tsyganok discusses this on the pages of the Russian Arms news agency.

The main lesson that the United States taught not only to Libya, but to the whole world is that they showed the technology of intervention. First, public opinion is prepared against a certain state by adding it to the list of unreliable ones. Then the procedure of searching and punishing for “sins” before world civilization begins. Further, various kinds of prohibitions and sanctions (embargo) are announced. Then, for a month, there follows a period of “holding” in harsh conditions until the maximum possible weakening. During this period, “reconnaissance in force” is carried out, all possible targets are identified. Possible allies of the future victim are neutralized. And only after this does open preparation and conduct of military aggression begin.

Wars with confrontation of powers - coalitions, confrontation of armies are being replaced by a global permanent war, which is waged continuously in all parts of the Earth in all possible ways: political, economic, military, technical, information. These operations violate international law. The civilian population is used to test the latest technological developments.

Moreover, in the intervention against Libya, the United States, Britain and France, with the support of several other NATO countries, attempted to legitimize their aggression with the help of an Arab fig leaf in the form of Qatari aircraft and ground troops. Assessing the groups created to conduct combat operations against Libya, one can state the absolute technical superiority of the United States in the space group, electronic warfare systems, sea- and air-launched cruise missiles, and navigation systems at the operational and tactical level.

The military operation of the US and NATO with the lured National Council against Gaddafi's semi-guerrilla army raises a lot of questions. The Libyan war, which has many differences from past wars conducted by the United States and NATO, attracts the attention of specialists. Of particular interest to military specialists is the process of creating air and naval groups and the actions of special units of the USA, France, Great Britain, and Italy. Operational camouflage of NATO and Libyan forces, conduct of NATO aerospace operations, strategy and tactics of the US and NATO groupings, tactics of the rebels, Gaddafi government forces.

The use of new weapons in the operation, information and psychological warfare, financial warfare, environmental warfare, combat and material support. Spatial scope of NATO's Operation Allied Protector: North America, Canada, most of Europe, Turkish part of Asia. Combat operations were carried out throughout the territory of Libya, control over ships throughout the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea.

If we adhere to the accepted classification of wars and conflicts, the main criterion of which is the number of victims and refugees, then the 9-month conflict of 2011 in northern Africa took third place after Iraq and Afghanistan. The total number of killed and wounded is unknown. As of July, the Libyan Red Cross said more than 1,100 civilians had been killed in NATO bombings, including 400 women and children. More than 6,000 Libyan civilians were injured in the bombing, many of them seriously. During the armed conflict, more than 400 thousand refugees were forced to leave Libya. The total losses of refugees are up to 6,000 people.

Before the February events of 2011, GDP per capita in Libya, calculated at purchasing power parity, was $13,800. This is more than two times more than in Egypt and Algeria, and one and a half times more than in Tunisia. The country had 10 universities and 14 research centers, preschool institutions, schools and hospitals that met international standards. Libya ranked first among African states in terms of human development and life expectancy - 77 years. (For comparison: in Russia, the average life expectancy is just over 69 years). By the way, Libya was included in the Guinness Book of Records as a country in which, during the period 2001-2005. there was the lowest inflation rate - 3.1%.

The main thing is that human rights, if understood as the right to a dignified existence, were realized to a much greater extent in Libya than in democratic Russia, Ukraine or Kazakhstan. Gaddafi made it clear that he saw the future economic development of Africa in general and Libya in particular more linked to China and Russia than to the West, helping to make clear that it was only a matter of time before the CIA put its contingency plan first to overthrow the Libyan government. So it was not concern for people that forced Western democracies to take a course towards overthrowing the existing government in Libya. Unrest in Libya, which developed into a civil war, began in mid-February. The country was effectively divided into the Gaddafi-controlled West and the East, which was held by rebel armed forces.

The death of civilians is the main complaint of the international community against the Gaddafi regime. Earlier, the rebels fighting against the dictator's troops approached the permanent members of the UN Security Council with a request to introduce an air blockade against the regime of Muammar Gaddafi. The League of Arab States spoke in favor of banning aviation flights and the Gulf Cooperation Council over Libya. NATO and the UN Security Council are discussing military measures against the authorities of Libya, where more than 2,000 people have already become victims of the civil war.

France and Great Britain proposed a draft resolution on Libya to the UN Security Council. The UN Security Council demands an immediate ceasefire and violence against civilians in Libya; introduces a ban on all flights over Libya, except for humanitarian flights and the evacuation of foreigners; authorizes any actions to protect civilians and territories inhabited by them, with the exception of the entry of occupation forces; authorizes the inspection of those ships and aircraft on which weapons and mercenaries can be delivered to Libya; imposes a ban on all flights to Libya; freezes the assets of the Libyan leadership; expands the list of Libyan officials subject to travel sanctions.

The vote in the UN Security Council on the Anglo-French draft Security Council Resolution No. 1973, which actually opened the way to military intervention, revealed a unique international political situation: the BRIC countries on the issue of Libya demonstrated disagreement with Europe, especially with the United States: Brazil, Russia , India, China (and from European countries Germany) did not support Resolution No. 1973.

The consequences of double standards are obvious: - the external arbiter took one of the parties to the conflict (and there were no innocent people there) and ceased to be an arbiter; - unilateral support led to a preponderance of forces of one of the conflicting parties, which only intensified the civil confrontation and claimed even more lives. Confirmation of the “double standard” for “us” and “outsiders” - Bahrain, where dozens of people were killed during similar protests, Western democracies only shook their fingers (placed them on the list of human rights violators), because there is an American naval base there.

If we analyze the wars over the past 20 years, we can see that the decisive factor in them was not only the military defeat of the armed forces of the defending army, but the political isolation of the leaders. This was the case on January 17, 1991, when the United States launched Operation Desert Storm against Iraq; this was the case in August-September 1995, when NATO aircraft carried out the air operation Moderate Force against the Bosnian Serbs, which played a role in stopping the Serbian offensive and changing the military situation in favor of the Muslim-Croat forces; this was the case on December 17-20, 1998, when joint US and British forces conducted Operation Desert Fox in Iraq; this was the case during the NATO military operation “Allied Force” (originally called “Resolute Force”) against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in the period from March 24 to June 10, 1999; With the same preparation, on October 7, 2001, the United States, at the head of NATO troops, launched Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan.

Libya and Russia. In Tripoli, however, they did not forget that Russia, which was considered a friendly state, in 1992 sharply changed its attitude towards Libya and in fact fully supported the introduction of a regime of international sanctions against it. A few years later, as is known, the Russian position changed. However, the first, very strong resentment remained, as did the distrust of Moscow’s policies. Overcoming this is very difficult. Apparently, this is why Tripoli did not fulfill the agreements reached in April 2008 on the purchase of Russian weapons, despite the fact that in return Russia wrote off Libya's Soviet-era debt in the amount of $4.5 billion.

No progress was made with the implementation of the $2.3 billion contract received by Russian Railways for the construction of the Sirte-Benghazi railway, although the line was planned to open in September 2009. The Kremlin's hopes for Libya regarding the creation of a "gas OPEC", in which Russia considered Tripoli as one of the main partners, did not materialize. Libya avoided participating in the organization, which jeopardized the entire project. At the same time, until recently, Libya was ready to host a Russian naval base in the port of Benghazi. On the eve of the events, a detachment of warships from the Russian Northern Fleet, led by the heavy nuclear-powered missile cruiser "Peter the Great", visited Libya. The Baltic Fleet patrol ship Neustrashimy also called at the port of Tripoli on its way to the shores of Somalia. As the Libyan leader hoped, the Russian military presence was supposed to be a guarantee of non-aggression on Libya by the United States.

Libyan group of forces and means. Libya's armed forces had sufficient potential to resist external aggression. As for air defense, Gaddafi had 4 anti-aircraft missile brigades equipped with S-200VE Vega anti-aircraft missile systems, 6 brigades of S-75M Desna air defense systems and 3 brigades of S-125M Neva-M air defense systems. and "Kvadrat" ("Wasp"), as well as portable air defense systems SA-7 of the old Soviet model. In total, according to experts, at least 216 anti-aircraft missiles.

Libya also had up to 500 mobile-based tactical and operational-tactical missiles. The naval forces of the Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya included the navy, naval aviation and coast guard.

The Libyan fleet consisted of eleven warships, including two Project 641 submarines, two Project 1159 frigates, one Project 1234 corvette, one PS-700 type landing ship, five Project 266ME minesweepers and fourteen missile boats (six Project 205 and eight type "Combatant-2G"), as well as up to twenty auxiliary vessels and more than fifty high-speed remotely controlled vehicles. Naval aviation consisted of 24 combat-ready helicopters, including 12 anti-submarine helicopters and 5 faulty ones.

Another 6 faulty vehicles were formally registered with the Navy. As of 2008, the Libyan Coast Guard included up to 70 patrol boats of various displacements. The ships of the Libyan fleet were based at the naval bases of Al-Hurna (Navy Headquarters), Al-Hum and Tobruk. Bases in Benghazi, Derna, Bordia, Tripoli, Tarabelus, and Darua were also used as maneuverable bases. The submarines were based in Ras Hilala, and the naval aircraft were based in Al-Ghidrabiyala. Mobile batteries of SS-C-3 anti-ship missiles from the coastal defense were located on vehicle launchers in the Tobruk, Benghazi and Al-Daniya areas.

Libyan Air Force numbered 23,000 personnel (including air defense). They had 379 combat aircraft, including 12 bombers (six each Tu-22 and Su-24MK), 151 fighter-bombers (40 MiG-23BN, 30 Mirage 5D/DE, 14 Mirage 5DD, 14 Mirage F- 1 AD, 53 Su-20/22), 205 fighters (45 MiG-21, 75 MiG-23, 70 MiG-25, 15 Mirage F-1 ED), 11 reconnaissance aircraft (4 Mirage 5DR, 7 MiG- 25RB). There were also 145 helicopters: 41 combat (29 Mi-25, 12 Mi-35), 54 multi-purpose (4 CH-47, 34 Mi-8/17, 11 SA-316, 5 Agusta-Bell AB-206) and 50 training Mi-2. It must be said that a great success for the West in its military operation against Libya is that Russia, which joined the anti-Libyan sanctions of the UN Security Council on March 10, did not have time to substantially implement the military contracts concluded with Tripoli in 2008. Military experts note that the Western coalition would have had a much more difficult time if Gaddafi had purchased modern weapons before the start of the war - fortunately, oil revenues made it possible to purchase effective air defense systems and combat aircraft. But the Libyan leader could not choose between Russia and France; as a result, the ground forces of the Jamahiriya never found effective protection from air strikes.

It was assumed that Libya, in particular, would acquire 12 Su-35 multi-role fighters, 48 ​​T-90S tanks, a number of S-125 Pechora, Tor-M2E and S-300PMU-2 anti-aircraft missile systems. Favorit", as well as diesel-electric submarines of Project 636 "Kilo". In addition, Russia was going to supply Libya with spare parts and carry out maintenance, repair and modernization of previously purchased military equipment, including the Osa-AKM air defense system and T-72 tanks. They also talked about the supply of Russian-made light and small arms, as well as a batch of sea mines worth $500 million. By the time the international embargo was established, Russian gunsmiths had managed to conclude contracts with Tripoli worth about $2 billion. The work was also close to completion to prepare a deal on aircraft and air defense systems with a total value of about 1.8 billion dollars. All these modern and very effective weapons did not get to Libya and are now unlikely to ever get there.

The solution to the US and NATO operation in Libya is “Odyssey Dawn”. In fact, the US and NATO conducted four operations in the Mediterranean (UK Ellamy, France Harmattan, Canada Mobile, NATO Allied Defender). In addition to the obvious - implementation of the UN Security Council Decision, there are hidden goals. The main goal: to solve the problem of North Africa by conquering a bridgehead in Libya. Geopolitical goal: to drive China out of Libya, to prevent the Russian fleet from being based in Libya and Syria. Political: to punish Gaddafi for refusing to join the Unified Command of the US Armed Forces in the African Zone, to deprive Europe of control over Libya's oil reserves. Military - to defeat the armed forces of M. Gaddafi, to test in real combat conditions the theoretical provisions of the Unified Command of the US Armed Forces in the African zone, to test the possibilities of quickly building up NATO forces and preparing for an operation in desert combat conditions.

Military - technical - conduct mass testing in real combat conditions of new weapons: the Ohio-class Florida submarine missile carrier, the Tomahawk Block IV tactical cruise missile (TLAM-E), the US Navy EA-18G Growler electronic warfare aircraft, the British Air Force Eurofighter Typhoon multirole fighter, AC-130U heavily armed ground support aircraft, MO-8B Fire Scout unmanned helicopter.

Information and psychological: test new forms of information and psychological warfare using the American propaganda aircraft Lockheed EC-130E Commando Solo and conducting special propaganda against the troops of M. Gaddafi and the population of Libya. Banking - exclude and prevent Gaddafi from creating a new banking system in Africa, which threatened to leave the IMF, World Bank and various other Western banking structures out of African affairs. Financial - use financial weapons. Repeat the CIA's success in Iraq, where four army corps commanders were bribed.

By the beginning of the operation, a large group of US Air Force and Navy and NATO had been created in relative proximity to the Libyan coast. Twenty-five warships, submarines of the Western Coalition, including three US Navy ships with Tomahawk missiles on board, and auxiliary vessels of the US 2nd and 6th fleets, including the aircraft carrier Enterprise, amphibious helicopter carriers Kersage and Ponce ", as well as the flagship (headquarters) ship "Mount Whitney". The deployment of ships of the 2nd and 6th US fleets in the adjacent Libyan territory made it relatively easy to prohibit the navigation of surface warships on the high seas.

A powerful American-NATO aviation group for reconnaissance aircraft and electronic warfare was created. In the air operation “Odyssey. Dawn" participated from the United States: fighter-bombers, multirole light fighters, carrier-based attack aircraft, strategic bombers, high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft, ground support aircraft, control and reconnaissance system carrier aircraft, refueling aircraft, helicopters, military transport aircraft, coastal patrol aircraft, military transport aircraft.

US and NATO strategists miscalculated, assuming that the military operation would be completed in a few weeks. Initially, the military operation in Libya was scheduled to last until June 27. Later, Western countries decided to extend their presence in the skies over the Jamahiriya. NATO and its partners have decided to extend their mission in Libya for another 90 days, until the end of September. At the end of September, the leadership of the North Atlantic bloc extended hostilities until the New Year. During the nine months of the war, the failure of political and military coordination in the NATO bloc was demonstrated. France, which initiated the military operation, could not have done anything against M. Gaddafi without American jammers, tankers, AWACS aircraft and cruise missiles. The British, in order to use a dozen Tornado fighter-bombers for the sake of prestige, had to leave most of their fleet in England without spare parts and stop flying the country's air defense fighters. The operation in Libya is a very limited military conflict. And if the Europeans are already experiencing a shortage of ammunition a month or two after it began, then one should ask what type of war were they preparing for? This war once again showed the level of worthlessness (without the USA) of the European military machine (NATO) and the level of its degradation.

Key Lessons:

First. International law can be violated and turn into a new Law if its “expediency” is approved by the eight leading countries of the world;

Second. Events in the Middle East have shown that the principle of force is becoming the dominant principle of international law. Therefore, any country must think about its security.

Third. Double standards have become the rule in international politics;

Fourth. The West can no longer rely solely on US leadership. While the United States continues to be much of the "indispensable power" it has been for the past 60 years, it is no longer enough to make international initiatives successful.

Fifth. WITH countries with new economies, primarily BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, China), which are expected to be able to pose an economic challenge to the West in this century, do not currently demonstrate the ability to political and diplomatic leadership. Thus, of the five states that abstained during the vote in the UN Security Council on resolution 1973 regarding Libya, four are leaders in the group of states with new economies: Brazil, Russia, India, China.

Sixth. The world community has become more sensitive to the problem of the use of military force, be it in Russia, Iraq, Afghanistan, Yemen, Pakistan or Libya, considering it from the standpoint of adequacy.

Seventh. The war in Libya has once again shown that the absolutization of military force does not eliminate political problems, but, on the contrary, postpones their solution over time. Almost everywhere where the US and NATO use military force, problems are not solved, but rather worsened. According to the convictions of the United States and NATO, others must restore them.

Eighth. France returned to the NATO military organization, once again creating a system of Franco-British privileged partnership, and Germany placed itself outside the Atlantic context.

Ninth. Military operations showed that M. Gaddafi’s Libyan army is able to fight against the United States and NATO, rebels and al-Qaeda armed forces for nine months.

Conclusions:

1. The speed of development of an unfavorable military-political situation may significantly outpace the speed of creating a new Russian army with advanced means of conducting armed struggle.

2. Military aggression against Russia is possible in the event of a maximum weakening of the economic, military and moral potential, and a lack of readiness of citizens to defend their homeland.