NATO has used ground attack helicopters in Libya for the first time.
British Apache helicopters destroyed two military installations near the town of Brega - a radar site and an armed checkpoint.
French Gazelle helicopters also took part in simultaneous attacks on different targets in Libya.
NATO said the use of attack helicopters provided increased flexibility to track and attack pro-Gaddafi forces attempting to hide in populated areas.
It also said their deployment would not presage the deployment of ground forces in Libya.
All the aircraft involved are reported to have safely returned to their off shore carriers.
Libyan rebels and NATO have made Muammar Gaddafi's departure a condition for agreeing a ceasefire in the conflict, but he emphatically told visiting South African President Jacob Zuma this week he would not leave Libya.
British Foreign Minister William Hague has flown to Benghazi for talks.
'We are here today for one principal reason - to show our support for the Libyan people and for the National Transitional Council, the legitimate representative of the Libyan people,' Mr Hague said in a statement.
Russia's top diplomat, meanwhile, warned that the NATO military operation in Libya was 'sliding towards' a land campaign, a prospect he said Moscow viewed as 'deplorable'.
