Operation FRICTION was Canada's participation in the Gulf War waged against Iraq after its invasion of Kuwait by an international coalition under Resolution 678 of the United Nations Security Council. The leading nations of the coalition were the United States and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; Canada was one of 33 other nations involved in the effort.
About 4,000 CF personnel took part in Op FRICTION, with deployed numbers peaking at 2,700.
After the war, Canada provided warships to patrol the Red Sea, the Arabian Sea and the Arabian Gulf with the international fleet enforcing the UN-mandated embargo on Iraq.
