The Turkish Navy has officially joined the battle in Libya by targeting warplanes supporting the Libyan National Army (LNA).
On April 1 morning, a warship of the Turkish Navy parked off the coast of the town of Sabratah to the west of capital, Tripoli, launched a RIM-66E-05 missile, reportedly at an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) supporting the LNA.
Libyan sources shared photos of the missile’s remains as well as of the warship, which appears to be a G-class frigate. Eight frigates of this type, which is an extensively modernized versions of ex-Oliver Hazard Perry-class guided-missile frigates of the US Navy, are in active service with the Turkish Navy.
Information is still initial, could have been 1 of several missiles that maybe didn’t miss.
In any case, this is a significant escalation but logical in the context of #GNA/#Turkey‘s efforts to achieve air superiority over #Tripoli.
More pics of the RIM-66E-05 missile:
— Oded Berkowitz (@Oded121351) April 1, 2020
Some sources claimed that the Rim-66E-05 medium-range missile shot down one of the UAE’s UAVs operating in Libya. However, this is yet to be verified.
A Brig. Gen. Ahmad al-Mesmari, a spokesman of the LNA, confirmed that a Turkish Navy warship opened fire. However, he claimed that the missiles launched by the frigate targeted the town of Ajaylat, near Sabratah. These claims are most likely false, as the RIM-66E-05 is not known to has a ground-attack capability.
Turkey began a military intervention in Libya a few months ago to support the Government of National Accord (GNA). Ankara deployed heavy weapons, air-defense systems, combat drones and thousands of its proxies in Libya. However, the situation is still in favor of the LNA, which is leading to more direct involvement by the Turkish military.
