Operation ECHO

June 1998–December 21, 2000

Operation ECHO began in June 1998 when Canada sent six CF-18 Hornet fighter aircraft and approximately 125 Air Force personnel to Aviano, Italy, to help enforce a no-fly zone in the Balkan region in support of the NATO Stabilization Force (SFOR) and Kosovo Force (KFOR), and to prepare for the 79-day NATO air campaign over the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, which took place between March and June 1999. During that campaign, in which Canadian pilots flew combat missions for the first time since the Korean War, Operation ECHO peaked at more than 300 CF personnel and eighteen CF-18 Hornet fighters, most of them from 3 Wing Bagotville, Quebec, and 4 Wing Cold Lake, Alberta.

When Operation ECHO ended on December 21, 2000, the strength of the Canadian contingent stood at about 120 Air Force personnel and six CF-18 Hornet fighters, and the return to Canada began in January 2001.