Direct proof of use
MILAN use in the 1990 Gulf War is documented in French Operation Daguet material. A 3e Regiment d'Infanterie de Marine retrospective lists a MILAN group in a company support section before the ground offensive and records that French infantry fired 22 MILAN missiles during the operation.
French remembrance material on Operation Daguet describes the February 24, 1991 attack toward Rochambeau with the 3e RIMa and 4e Regiment de Dragons covered by RICM armor and MILAN anti-tank missiles. The same account says the 3e RIMa used MILAN missiles while advancing toward the outskirts of Al Salman.
Sources: Daguet 3e RIMa Retrospective, Chemins de memoire Daguet
Timeline
French forces deployed MILAN with Daguet infantry before the ground campaign. An ALAT witness account says the 5e Regiment d'Helicopteres de Combat was complemented during the August 1990 Salamandre deployment by a 1er Regiment d'Infanterie company equipped with MILAN missiles, and that MILAN thermal sights were used to watch the Suez Canal banks during transit.
During the February 1991 ground phase, 3e RIMa accounts place MILAN teams in the support section as the regiment crossed the border and advanced toward Rochambeau. A company commander's account states that on the night before the main attack, vehicles were observed but could not be engaged with MILAN because the terrain prevented proper missile tracking. During the following advance, he describes firing MILAN at identified entrenched tanks when range allowed.
Sources: ALAT Ladeveze Testimony, Daguet 3e RIMa Retrospective
Operational role
The documented role was infantry anti-armor fire support for French forces on the coalition side. MILAN teams accompanied 3e RIMa companies and were used alongside artillery, armor, heavy machine guns, and mortars as French units moved through Iraqi defensive positions.
The evidence points to both firing and observation use. The 3e RIMa retrospective gives the clearest campaign tally, 22 MILAN missiles fired by infantry, while first-person accounts describe MILAN sights used for surveillance and MILAN fire considered or used against suspected or identified armored targets. The sources do not identify every target struck by each missile, and one account explicitly describes a shot at about 1,000 meters that did not hit the adversary.
Sources: Daguet 3e RIMa Retrospective, Chemins de memoire Daguet, Daguet Thorette Testimony
