Força Aérea e Espacial Francesa

Ordem de batalha · France

Força Aérea e Espacial Francesa

Armée de l'air et de l'espace

The Armée de l’air et de l’espace is the only air force in the European Union that carries its country’s nuclear weapons, designs and builds its own fighter from radar to engine, and has flown an almost unbroken run of expeditionary campaigns since 1960 — roughly 180 combat aircraft, about 38,000 aviators and fifteen flying bases in metropolitan France, built around an argument the French call souveraineté: that an air force which has to ask permission is not an air force at all.

Marcação nacionalThe cocarde — blue centre, white ring, red outer — in use since 1912
Baixa visibilidadeSubdued grey or two-tone cocarde on Rafale and Mirage since the 1990s
113-IXUnit markingSquadron insignia on the fin and a code of wing number and aircraft letter on the fuselage, as in 3-XZ for the 3e escadre
138Aeronaves de combate
26Bases aéreas ativas
1934Fundada
30Tipos aposentados
Dylan Agbagni, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
PaísFrançaFundada1934StatusAtivoSedeHexagone Balard, ParisComandanteGénéral Jérôme Bellanger
A história

The French Air and Space Force story: sovereignty, a nuclear missile and a fighter France builds itself

1909–1934: from the Ministry of Air to a service of its own

France invented military aviation as an institution before anyone else made it a service. The world’s first military air unit was Captain Coutelle’s balloon company of April 1794; the country bought its first military aeroplane in September 1909 and passed a law organising military aeronautics on 29 March 1912. The aviators of 1914–18 gave France the vocabulary the air force still uses — the escadrille, o cigogne painted on Guynemer’s SPAD, the word as for an ace. But they belonged to the army. A Ministry of Air was created in 1928, a decree of 1 April 1933 gave the air arm its independence in principle, and the law of 2 July 1934 gave it an identity, a staff and a budget of its own. The Armée de l’air was ninety-one years old in 2025 and is one of the oldest independent air forces on earth — older than the Luftwaffe, older than the United States Air Force by thirteen years.

1940–1945: six weeks of catastrophe, and a rebuilt air force that flew to Berlin

What happened next is the part French officers still teach. In May 1940 the Armée de l’air was caught in the middle of a rearmament programme, with modern Dewoitine D.520s arriving in ones and twos alongside obsolete MS.406s and American Curtiss H-75 Hawks bought in a hurry. Its pilots fought hard — the Hawk squadrons ran up a positive exchange ratio against the Luftwaffe — and the campaign was lost anyway, in six weeks, for reasons that had more to do with command, concentration and spares than with courage. The service then split. Part of it flew for Vichy; part of it went to London and became the Forces aériennes françaises libres. Groupe de chasse 1/3 Alsace, the Normandie-Niemen regiment on the Eastern Front and the squadrons rebuilt in North Africa from November 1942 put French roundels back over Germany by 1945. The service came out of the war with a fixed conviction: never again be dependent on somebody else’s aircraft, somebody else’s decision, or somebody else’s timetable.

1954–1962: Indochina, Suez and Algeria — the wars that made the expeditionary habit

It also came out of the war into another one. From 1946 the Armée de l’air flew in Indochina with borrowed and bought American types — Ju 52s, C-47s, Bearcats, B-26 Invaders — over a country where air power could resupply a garrison but could not save Dien Bien Phu in 1954. Two years later, French Mystère IVAs and F-84F Thunderstreaks flew the Suez operation from Cyprus and, more quietly, from Israeli airfields at Ramat David and Lod, wearing Israeli markings. Then came Algeria, eight years of counter-insurgency with T-6 Texans, Sikorsky and Vertol helicopters and improvised gunships, a campaign that taught the service close air support and cost it the loyalty of some of its own generals in the putsch of April 1961. By 1962 the Armée de l’air had been at war continuously for sixteen years and had learned to deploy anywhere with what it could carry.

1964–1996: the Mirage IV, the Plateau d’Albion and a deterrent nobody else in Europe had

The deterrent changed everything. On 1 October 1964 the first Mirage IVA squadron stood up and France became the third country to put a nuclear bomb on a supersonic bomber of its own design. Nine squadrons across three wings, 36 aircraft on alert at any time, a tanker fleet of American C-135Fs bought precisely because nobody would sell France anything else, and a doctrine — dissuasion du faible au fort — that did not require parity with Moscow, only the certainty of unacceptable damage. Land-based missiles followed on the Plateau d’Albion in 1971 and were scrapped in 1996; the Mirage IV handed the airborne strike role to the Mirage 2000N on 31 July 1996 and flew on as a reconnaissance aircraft until 2005. What survives is the Forces aériennes stratégiques, the air component of the deterrent, sixty years old in October 2024 and today two Rafale B squadrons at Saint-Dizier armed with the ASMPA-R missile, with the tankers at Istres that make the mission possible.

1991–2022: Daguet, Harmattan, Serval — thirty years of going first

Since 1991 the pattern has been consistent enough to be a doctrine in itself: France goes early, goes with its own aircraft, and does not wait to be asked. Jaguars and Mirage 2000s flew Opération Daguet in the Gulf in 1991. A Mirage 2000N was shot down over Pale on the first night of Deliberate Force in August 1995 and its crew spent 104 days as hostages. French aircraft flew roughly a tenth of the Kosovo campaign in 1999 and were the only European contingent to drop laser-guided weapons in quantity. On 19 March 2011 Rafales from Saint-Dizier fired the first shots of the entire Libyan intervention, hours before the American cruise missiles; France flew about a quarter of all NATO sorties in Harmattan and a third of the strikes. In January 2013 four Mirage 2000Ds from Chad and then Rafales flying 3,000 nautical miles direct from Saint-Dizier stopped a column moving on Bamako. Nine years later, in August 2022, the last French aircraft left Mali.

2020–2026: all-Rafale, the space command, and a nuclear base being rebuilt at Luxeuil

The service that renamed itself the Armée de l’air et de l’espace on 11 September 2020 is smaller, busier and more concentrated than the one that flew nine Mirage IV squadrons. It is converting to a single combat type: the last Mirage 2000C left Orange in June 2022, the fiftieth and final Mirage 2000D upgraded to RMV standard was handed over in July 2026, and the Mirage 2000-5F is down to a single squadron at Luxeuil and a handful at Djibouti after six went to Ukraine. The Rafale line, meanwhile, is the busiest it has ever been — and mostly for other people: Dassault delivered 26 in 2025, fifteen of them for export, and France has repeatedly given up its own delivery slots and sold second-hand airframes to Greece and Croatia to keep customers happy. The gap shows. A 2025 parliamentary hearing put it plainly: to meet its operational contracts the air force is flying its Rafales roughly 15 per cent beyond the hours the fleet was sized for. The answer, funded but slow, is the F4 standard now, the F5 and a stealthy combat drone descended from nEUROn by 2033, and a second nuclear base at Luxeuil-Saint-Sauveur that will cost at least 1.5 billion euros and open in the 2030s — the first time since the Cold War that France has built new airfield infrastructure for nuclear-armed aircraft.

What happened next is the part French officers still teach. In May 1940 the Armée de l’air was caught in the middle of a rearmament programme, with modern Dewoitine D.520s arriving in ones and twos alongside obsolete MS.406s and American Curtiss H-75 Hawks bought in a hurry.French Air and Space Force · verified 2026-09-13
À primeira vista

The French Air and Space Force in numbers

Serviço

Nome nativo
Armée de l'air et de l'espaceMotto Faire face — "face up to it" — taken from the Escadrille des Cigognes and Georges Guynemer. Renamed from Armée de l’air on 11 September 2020, when the space mission was added.
Fundada
2 July 1934The law of 2 July 1934 made the air arm a service in its own right; a decree of 1 April 1933 had granted independence in principle, and the Ministry of Air dates from 1928. Lineage runs back to the balloon company of 1794 and the military aeronautics law of 29 March 1912.
Parte de
Forces armées françaisesOne of three services alongside the Armée de terre and the Marine nationale, plus the Gendarmerie nationale. Naval aviation (Aéronautique navale) and army aviation (ALAT) are separate arms with their own aircraft.
Sede
Hexagone Balard, Paris 15eThe air staff moved from the old Paris air base to the Balard site on 25 June 2015 and employs around 150 people there.
Comandos principais
  • Commandement des forces aériennes stratégiques (CFAS) — the nuclear command, Vélizy-Villacoublay
  • Commandement des forces aériennes (CFA) — force generation and training, Bordeaux-Mérignac
  • Commandement de la défense aérienne et des opérations aériennes (CDAOA) — air defence and operations, Lyon-Mont Verdun
  • Commandement de l’espace (CDE) — space, Toulouse

Four great commands under the chief of staff at Balard, plus the human-resources directorate DRHAAE and the air expertise centre CEAM at Mont-de-Marsan.

Chief of staff
Général d’armée aérienne Jérôme BellangerCEMAAE since September 2024. Mirage 2000 RDI pilot, 2,400 flying hours, 59 combat missions; previously commander of the Forces aériennes stratégiques.

Força

Military personnel
38,508Full-time equivalents budgeted for the air force in the Chiffres clés de la Défense 2026, out of a ministry total of 264,720. The target set by the 2024–2030 planning law is 40,000 aviators by 2030.
Reserva
about 6,000Operational reservists of the air force reserve. France is expanding the reserve across all three services under the 2024–2030 planning law; the air force figure is not published monthly.
Aeronaves de combate
184

  • Rafale B/C — 112
  • Mirage 2000D / 2000D RMV — 50
  • Mirage 2000-5F — 22

The air force held 196 combat aircraft at 31 December 2023. The planning law targets 187 fighters for the air force by 2030 and 225 across the air force and the navy by 2035.

Total de aeronaves
about 500Combat, transport, tanker, surveillance, training and helicopter fleets together, plus ten MQ-9 Reapers. France does not publish a single audited total the way the United States does, so counts vary by a few dozen depending on what is included.
Budget
€4.38 bn commitments / €3.76 bn paymentsProgramme 178 "préparation et emploi des forces — air" in the 2026 finance bill, up from €3.33 bn and €3.53 bn in 2025. This is the air force’s operating line only: equipment procurement sits in a separate programme and the aircraft themselves are bought by the DGA.
Flying rate
roughly 15 per cent overIn July 2025 the air staff told parliament that meeting its operational contracts required flying the Rafale fleet about 15 per cent beyond the hours the fleet was sized for.

Infraestrutura

bases aéreas
15 flying bases in metropolitan France

  • Plus four non-flying bases and detachments and several attached air elements
  • Five overseas: La Réunion, Guyane, Martinique, Nouvelle-Calédonie, Polynésie
  • Two abroad: BA 188 Djibouti and BA 104 Al Dhafra, United Arab Emirates

France closed eleven metropolitan air bases between 2009 and 2021 and left its West and Central African bases between 2022 and 2025.

Alerta de reação rápida
Permanent posture de sûreté aérienneArmed fighters and helicopters on alert around the clock at dispersed sites across metropolitan France and the overseas territories, controlled from the CNOA at Lyon-Mont Verdun. France scrambles for airspace violations and for slow-moving or non-communicating traffic, and reinforces the posture for events such as the 2024 Olympic Games.
Nuclear
Two Rafale B squadrons at Saint-DizierThe Forces aériennes stratégiques field the ASMPA-R stand-off missile on Rafale B, with tanker support from Istres. Two more nuclear Rafale squadrons are to stand up at Luxeuil-Saint-Sauveur in the 2030s. The navy’s carrier-borne Rafale M form a separate component, the FANu.
Longest runway
5,000 m at Istres-Le TubéThe longest runway in Europe and a NASA Space Shuttle contingency landing site; built for the Mirage IV and the flight-test centre.
Estrutura

How the French Air and Space Force is organised

Four great commands under one chief of staff at Balard. The unusual one is CFAS, the Strategic Air Forces Command — no other air force in the European Union owns nuclear weapons, and France gave the space mission to the air force rather than creating a separate service for it.

GJ

Général d’armée aérienneGénéral Jérôme BellangerChef d’état-major de l’armée de l’Air et de l’Espace (CEMAAE) · in office since 2024
État-major de l’armée de l’Air et de l’EspaceArmée de l'air et de l'espace
Funcionários

État-major de l’armée de l’Air et de l’Espace

EMAAE
Hexagone Balard, Paris

The chief of staff and the air staff at Balard: doctrine, programme, budget and the interface to the joint chief of the defence staff. About 150 people.

Nuclear

Commandement des forces aériennes stratégiques

CFAS
Vélizy-Villacoublay

The airborne component of the nuclear deterrent: two Rafale B squadrons at Saint-Dizier with the ASMPA-R missile and the tanker squadrons at Istres. Created in 1964 with the Mirage IV.

Force generation

Commandement des forces aériennes

CFA
Bordeaux-Mérignac

Generates, trains and prepares the flying units — fighter, transport, helicopter and drone — and owns the training pipeline from Salon-de-Provence to Cognac and Cazaux.

Operações

Commandement de la défense aérienne et des opérations aériennes

CDAOA
Lyon-Mont Verdun

Air defence of French territory and the planning and conduct of air operations, through the national air operations centre buried inside the Mont Verdun.

Space

Commandement de l’espace

CDE
Toulouse

Military space: surveillance of the orbital environment, satellite operations and space situational awareness. Created in September 2019, a year before the service took the word "space" into its own name.

Trials

Centre d’expertise aérienne militaire

CEAM
Mont-de-Marsan

Operational test and evaluation, weapons clearance and tactics development for every type in the air force, with its own trials squadrons.

People

Direction des ressources humaines de l’armée de l’Air et de l’Espace

DRHAAE
Tours, then Balard

Recruitment, careers and training policy for about 38,000 military personnel and 5,000 civilians, working to a target of 40,000 aviators by 2030.

Academy

École de l’air et de l’espace

EAE
Salon-de-Provence

The officer academy, a degree-awarding grande école since 2021, together with the Patrouille de France and the competition aerobatic team.

Treinamento

École de l’aviation de chasse 00.315

EAC 315
Cognac-Châteaubernard

The fighter pilot pipeline: 26 Pilatus PC-21 and 16 Grob G 120 that train every French fighter pilot and weapons systems officer.

Drones

33e escadre de surveillance, de reconnaissance et d’attaque

33e ESRA
Cognac-Châteaubernard

Every armed drone France owns: twelve MQ-9 Reapers and the King Air ALSR light intelligence aircraft.

Em serviço

What the French Air and Space Force flies today

Cada tipo de cobrança, com link para sua página no Livro das Feras, quando houver. Os números indicam as aeronaves registradas, não as aeronaves disponíveis em um determinado dia.

Tipo Papel Em serviço Desde Unidades Notas
Dassault Rafale B/CEm serviço Omnirole fighter: air defence, strike, reconnaissance and nuclear delivery 112 2006 — 112 with the air force at 31 December 2025 (Chiffres clés de la Défense 2026, published 10 September 2026), up from 105 a year earlier.

Mais

The DGA received 11 Rafale for the air force during 2025; the fleet grew by only seven because aircraft continue to be drawn off for export contracts.
Dassault Mirage 2000D / 2000D RMVEm serviço Tactical strike and close air support 50 1993 — 50 at 31 December 2025 in the Chiffres clés de la Défense 2026, down from 55 a year earlier.

Mais

All 50 have been through the RMV mid-life upgrade; the fiftieth and last was handed over on 1 July 2026, which closed the programme.
Dassault Mirage 2000-5FEm serviço Air defence and air policing 22 1999 — About 22. The Chiffres clés de la défense 2025 gives 23; opex360 reported 28 in service before six were transferred to Ukraine from February 2025.

Mais

France has not published an updated figure, so treat this as 22–23.
Airbus A330 MRTT PhénixEm serviço Air-to-air refuelling and strategic transport 13 2018 — 13 at 31 December 2025 in the Chiffres clés de la Défense 2026; the target is 15 by 2028. The two outstanding aircraft are second-hand A330 airliners being converted to the MRTT standard.
Airbus A400M AtlasEm serviço Tactical and strategic airlift 25 2013 — 25 delivered; the twenty-fifth arrived in January 2026 and two more are programmed for 2026.

Mais

France has ordered 50 in total and the 2024–2030 planning law targets 35 by 2030, a figure the air force has since said it wants to push higher.
Lockheed Martin C-130J-30 / KC-130J Super HerculesEm serviço Tactical airlift and helicopter refuelling 4 2018 — Four: two C-130J-30 transports and two KC-130J tankers, delivered from 2018.
Lockheed C-130H / C-130H-30 HerculesEm serviço Transporte aéreo tático 12 1987 — 12 at 31 December 2025 in the Chiffres clés de la Défense 2026 — nine C-130H and three renovated — down from 14 a year earlier.

Mais

Bought from 1987 and being withdrawn as A400M deliveries accelerate.
Airbus CN235-200/300 CasaEm serviço Light tactical transport 27 1993 — 27 in the Chiffres clés de la défense 2025 — the largest single fleet of aircraft the air force owns after the Rafale.
Airbus A330-200Em serviço Strategic and government transport 3 2010 — Three, including the presidential aircraft. Separate from the twelve A330 MRTT Phénix.
Dassault Falcon 900 EASyEm serviço Government and liaison transport 4 1987 — Four, with an updated Falcon 900 EASy standard entering service from 2025 in place of the Falcon 2000.
Dassault Falcon 7XEm serviço Transporte governamental 2 2009 — Two, in service since 2009.
Boeing E-3F SentryEm serviço Airborne early warning and control 4 1991 — Four, bought in 1990 and upgraded to a Block 40/45-equivalent standard. A successor is planned for the early 2030s.
Beechcraft King Air 350ER ALSREm serviço Light intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance 2 2020 — Two in service under the ALSR programme, known in French service as VADOR; a third has been ordered.
General Atomics MQ-9A ReaperEm serviço Armed medium-altitude long-endurance surveillance 12 2013 — 12 at 31 December 2025 in the Chiffres clés de la Défense 2026, in Block 1 and Block 5 Extended Range configurations; the Block 5 ER was declared operational on 19 December 2024.
Dassault/Dornier Alpha Jet EEm serviço Advanced and operational conversion training; display flying 42 1979 — 42 at 31 December 2025 in the Chiffres clés de la Défense 2026, down from 47 a year earlier; in service since 1979.
Pilatus PC-21Em serviço Advanced turboprop fighter-pilot training 26 2018 — 26 bought in two batches; the second order of nine, announced in July 2021, completed the fleet.
Grob G 120A-FEm serviço Elementary flying training 16 2010 — 16 at Cognac, operated under contract alongside the PC-21.
Embraer EMB-121 XinguEm serviço Multi-engine and navigator training, liaison 22 1983 — 22 at 31 December 2025 in the Chiffres clés de la Défense 2026, down from 27 a year earlier — the oldest fleet in the air force, bought in 1983 and now being run down.

Mais

The DGA issued a tender to replace it in June 2025.
Socata TBM 700Em serviço Liaison and light transport 15 1992 — 15 in the Chiffres clés de la défense 2025.
De Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin OtterEm serviço Light transport and parachute training 5 1978 — Five, the oldest of them delivered in 1978.
Extra EA-330SCEm serviço Aerobatic display 3 2011 — Three flown by the Équipe de voltige de l’armée de l’air et de l’espace at Salon-de-Provence.
Airbus Helicopters H225M CaracalEm serviço Combat search and rescue, special operations 17 2006 — 17 with the air force at 31 December 2025 (Chiffres clés de la Défense 2026), against 13 a year earlier.

Mais

Four of the eight ordered in April 2021 have been handed over — two on 20 December 2024 and two during 2025 — so four remain. The published stock and delivery figures do not reconcile exactly: 13 plus two deliveries is 15, not 17.
Airbus Helicopters AS555 FennecEm serviço Air policing, training and liaison 40 1988 — 40 in air force service, delivered from 1988.
Airbus Helicopters SA330 Puma / AS332 Super PumaEm serviço Tactical and utility transport 15 1974 — 15 Puma and Super Puma at 31 December 2025 in the Chiffres clés de la Défense 2026, down from 21 a year earlier as the SA330 Puma is withdrawn.

Mais

The Puma entered air force service on 2 May 1974.
Airbus Helicopters H225 (EC225)Em serviço Transport and search and rescue 2 2016 — Two civil-standard H225s taken on in 2016 to cover a shortfall.
Rafale112
M2000D50
Alpha Jet42
Fennec40
CN-23527
PC-2126
A400M25
M2000-522

Sob encomenda

Tipo Encomendado Primeira entrega Notas
Dassault Rafale F4 (tranche 5)Sob encomenda 42 2027 Ordered on 12 January 2024 for more than €5 billion, spread across 400 companies and about 7,000 jobs.

Mais

Deliveries run from 2027 in the F4 standard, which brings the Contact radio network, MICA NG missiles and a digital jammer integrated into the SPECTRA self-protection suite. In July 2026 the ministry confirmed that 20 of the 42 would slip from 2031–32 to 2033–34 and be built directly to the F5 standard. Dassault’s order book at the end of 2025 held 45 Rafale for France and 175 for export.
Dassault Rafale F5Sob encomenda 20 2033 The standard that will carry the ASN4G hypersonic nuclear missile from about 2035, replacing the ASMPA-R, and that will fly with the new stealth combat drone.

Mais

Twenty of the tranche 5 aircraft are being deferred so they can be built as F5s rather than upgraded later. Two F5 squadrons are to be based at Luxeuil-Saint-Sauveur.
Dassault UCAV (nEUROn-derived combat drone)Sob encomenda 0 2033 Launched by the DGA on 8 October 2024 at Saint-Dizier, at the sixtieth anniversary of the Forces aériennes stratégiques.

Mais

A stealthy, internally-armed unmanned combat aircraft built on the nEUROn demonstrator, which first flew in December 2012 and has since made more than 170 test flights. It is to fly with the Rafale F5 after 2030, with full operational capability targeted for 2033. No production quantity has been announced.
Airbus A400M AtlasSob encomenda 25 2026 France has ordered 50 in total and had 25 in January 2026, with two more due in 2026.

Mais

The 2024–2030 planning law sets 35 by 2030; a French-Spanish letter of intent signed at Le Bourget in June 2025 keeps the Seville line running to the end of 2028. The air force has since indicated it wants to go beyond 35 and retire the C-130H earlier.
Airbus A330 MRTT PhénixSob encomenda 2 2026 Two more to reach the target fleet of 15, which the ministry expects to have complete by 2028.

Mais

They are second-hand A330 airliners being converted to the MRTT standard rather than new-build aircraft.
Dassault Falcon 8X ArchangeSob encomenda 3 2026 Three aircraft under the CUGE programme to restore the signals-intelligence capability lost when the two C-160G Gabriels retired.

Mais

The first Archange flew on 26 July 2025 and an aircraft in the markings of the escadron électronique 5/64 Dunkerque was seen at Bordeaux-Mérignac in June 2026. The aircraft will be based at Évreux.
Airbus Helicopters H225M CaracalSob encomenda 4 2026 Four remaining from the eight-aircraft order placed in April 2021: two were delivered on 20 December 2024 and two more during 2025.

Mais

France’s stated ambition is a combat search and rescue fleet in the thirties by the mid-2030s.
Beechcraft King Air 350ER ALSR (VADOR)Sob encomenda 1 2026 A third light ISR aircraft to join the two already flying with the 33e escadre at Cognac.
Airbus EurodroneSob encomenda 12 2031 France’s share of the four-nation MALE programme is four systems of three aircraft.

Mais

The programme is late: first flight has moved from 2025 to 2028 and entry into service to 2031, and in 2026 General Bellanger publicly described it as five years behind. France says it remains committed but has put no money for its own aircraft in the current planning law and is studying cheaper national alternatives drawn from Ukrainian and Iranian practice. Treat both the quantity and the date as unsettled.
Next-Generation Fighter (SCAF / FCAS)Sob encomenda 0 2040 The Franco-German-Spanish sixth-generation programme, intended to replace the Rafale from about 2040.

Mais

It is stalled: Germany’s deadline of mid-April 2026 for a decision on the next phase passed without one, and the dispute between Dassault and Airbus over work share, intellectual property and whether the aircraft must be carrier-capable and nuclear-capable remains unresolved. No aircraft is on order and no demonstrator date is confirmed.
Saab GlobalEyeSob encomenda 2 2029 Ordered on 30 December 2025 for just over 1.1 billion euros, with an option on two more, to replace the four E-3F Sentry. Deliveries are planned between 2029 and 2032.
Anteriormente operado

Every type the French Air and Space Force has retired

30 types, from the Nieuport 11 Bébé to the Boeing C-135F / C-135FR Stratotanker. Os números máximos representam as aeronaves incorporadas à frota ao longo de toda a sua vida útil, e não a força total da frota em uma data específica.

Tipo Papel Pico Servido Substituído por Notas
Boeing C-135F / C-135FR Stratotanker Air-to-air refuelling 11 1964–2023 Airbus A330 MRTT Phénix Twelve C-135F bought in 1964 for the Mirage IV, reduced to eleven after a loss at sea in 1972 and re-engined as C-135FR between 1984 and 1989.
Dassault Mirage 2000C / 2000B RDI Air defence interceptor 124 1984–2022 Rafale C and Mirage 2000-5F 124 Mirage 2000C and 30 two-seat Mirage 2000B for the French air force, in service from 1984.
Transall C-160 / C-160NG / C-160G Gabriel Tactical airlift, signals intelligence and communications relay 78 1967–2022 A400M Atlas 78 airframes for France: 50 C-160F plus three pre-production, 25 C-160NG, of which two became C-160G Gabriel signals-intelligence aircraft and four C-160H Astarté relays.
Dassault Mirage 2000N Nuclear strike 75 1988–2018 Rafale B with ASMPA 75 built for the pre-strategic and then strategic nuclear mission, carrying first the ASMP and then the ASMP-A.
Dassault Mirage F1 C/CT/CR Interception, ground attack and tactical reconnaissance 246 1973–2014 Rafale and Mirage 2000D 246 delivered to the French air force from 1973 — F1C interceptors, F1CT attack conversions and F1CR reconnaissance aircraft.
Dassault Mirage IV A/P Supersonic nuclear bomber, later strategic reconnaissance 62 1964–2005 Mirage 2000N in the nuclear role, Rafale in reconnaissance 62 production aircraft plus four prototypes, built between 1963 and 1968; 36 on alert at any time out of an active force rotated with 26 reserve aircraft.
SEPECAT Jaguar A/E Tactical strike and pre-strategic nuclear attack 200 1973–2005 Rafale and Mirage 2000D 160 single-seat Jaguar A and 40 two-seat Jaguar E for France, from 1973.
Fouga CM.170 Magister Basic and advanced jet training 400 1956–1996 Alpha Jet About 400 in French service from 1956, built at Toulouse.
Dassault Mirage III C/E/B/R Interception, strike and reconnaissance 500 1961–1994 Mirage 2000 and Mirage F1 Roughly 500 of all French marks including the Mirage IIIC interceptor, IIIE fighter-bomber, IIIB trainer and IIIR reconnaissance variants.
Dassault Mirage 5F Visual ground attack 50 1972–1994 Mirage 2000 Fifty aircraft originally built for Israel, embargoed in 1967 and taken into French service from 1972.
Nord Noratlas N.2501 Tactical airlift and paratroop transport 210 1953–1989 Transall C-160 About 210 for France of 425 built.
Dassault Mystère IVA Fighter-bomber, later advanced trainer 325 1955–1982 Super Mystère and Mirage III About 325 for France, part-funded by American offshore procurement money.
Sud-Ouest SO.4050 Vautour II Bomber, night fighter and attack 140 1958–1979 Mirage IV and Mirage III About 140 for France in three versions: IIA attack, IIB bomber and IIN night fighter.
North American F-100D/F Super Sabre Caça-bombardeiro 100 1958–1978 Jaguar About 100 supplied under American military aid from 1958.
Dassault Super Mystère B2 Caça-bombardeiro 180 1957–1977 Mirage III and Jaguar About 180 built, the first European production aircraft able to exceed Mach 1 in level flight.
Lockheed T-33 Shooting Star / Silver Star Jet transition training and liaison 200 1951–1976 Fouga Magister and Alpha Jet Around 200 T-33A and Canadian-built Silver Stars supplied from 1951 under American military aid.
English Electric Canberra B.6 Bomber, later flight test and electronic warfare 6 1954–1972 Vautour and Mirage IV Six Canberra B.6 bought from Britain in 1954.
Republic F-84F Thunderstreak / F-84G Thunderjet Caça-bombardeiro 335 1952–1967 Mirage III and Mystère IV About 335 F-84F Thunderstreaks plus F-84G Thunderjets, delivered under the Mutual Defense Assistance Program from 1952.
Douglas B-26 Invader Light bomber 110 1951–1963 Vautour More than a hundred supplied from 1951, most for Indochina.
Dassault MD.450 Ouragan Caça-bombardeiro 350 1952–1961 Mystère IV About 350 built, roughly 250 of them for the French air force. The first jet fighter designed and built in France to enter mass production.
SNCASE Mistral (de Havilland Vampire) Caça-bombardeiro 250 1949–1961 Ouragan and Mystère IV About 250 Vampires and French-built Mistrals, the latter with a Rolls-Royce Nene built under licence by Hispano-Suiza.
North American P-51D Mustang Fighter and fighter-bomber 100 1945–1954 Ouragan and F-84 About 100 supplied to French units from 1945, some flying reconnaissance in Indochina.
Dewoitine D.520 Lutador 437 1940–1953 — 437 delivered by June 1940 of 2,200 ordered; production continued under Vichy and the type served in training roles until 1953.
Amiot 143 Night bomber 138 1935–1944 Bloch 174 and Lend-Lease types 138 built; obsolete by 1939 and still in front-line service in May 1940.
Morane-Saulnier MS.406 Lutador 1,000 1938–1940 Dewoitine D.520 About 1,000 in service in May 1940 — the most numerous French fighter of the campaign, and the most outclassed.
Curtiss H-75 Hawk Lutador 291 1939–1940 — 291 delivered to France before the armistice out of about 1,000 ordered in a hurry from 1938.
Breguet 19 Light bomber and reconnaissance 2,000 1924–1940 Amiot 143 and Bloch 174 Around 2,000 built for France and for export between 1924 and the mid-1930s.
Potez 25 Reconhecimento e bombardeiro leve 4,000 1925–1940 — About 4,000 built in 87 variants for 20 countries.
SPAD S.XIII Lutador 8,472 1917–1923 — 8,472 built, more than 4,000 of them for the French air service.
Nieuport 11 Bébé Lutador 1,200 1916–1917 SPAD S.VII About 1,200 built from 1916.
bases aéreas

Where the Armée de l’air et de l’espace flies from, at home and overseas

Black pins are active bases, hollow pins the ones France has closed or handed back. Eleven metropolitan air bases closed between 2009 and 2021, and between 2022 and 2025 France left every permanent base it held in West and Central Africa. Djibouti is what remains.

Base aérea ativa Fechado ou reservadoClique em um marcador para abrir a página inicial.

Metropolitan France

10 of the 40 bases above sit outside metropolitan France, so the world map has to pull back until the home airfields cannot be told apart. The same pins again, without the overseas bases.

Base OACI Status Pista Unidades e aeronaves
Base aérienne 104 Al DhafraEmirados Árabes Unidos OMAM Ativo 13L/31R3,661 m13R/31L3,661 m
Base aérienne 105 Évreux-FauvilleEure LFOE Ativo 04/223,001 mconcreto
  • Escadron de transport 1/62 Vercors: Airbus CN235
  • Escadron de transport 3/62 Ventoux: Airbus CN235
  • Escadron de transport franco-allemand: Lockheed Martin C-130J-30, Lockheed Martin KC-130J
  • Escadron électronique 5/64 Dunkerque: Dassault Falcon 8X Archange
  • Escadron de transport 2/64 Anjou: Transall C-160
Base aérienne 106 Bordeaux-MérignacGironde LFBD Ativo 05/233,100 m11/292,400 m
  • Commandement des forces aériennes
  • Escadron de transport 43 Médoc: Socata TBM 700, Airbus CN235
Base aérienne 107 Vélizy-VillacoublayYvelines LFPV Ativo 09/271,957 m
  • Commandement des forces aériennes stratégiques
  • Escadron de transport 60: Dassault Falcon 7X, Dassault Falcon 900 EASy, Airbus A330-200
  • Escadron de transport 41 Verdun: Socata TBM 700
  • Escadron d’hélicoptères 3/67 Parisis: Airbus Helicopters AS332 Super Puma, Airbus Helicopters AS555 Fennec
Base aérienne 110 CreilOise LFPC Ativo 08/262.440 mconcreto
  • Centre de formation et d’interprétation interarmées de l’imagerie
  • Escadron de transport 3/60 Estérel: Douglas DC-8, Airbus A310, Airbus A340
Base aérienne 113 Saint-Dizier-RobinsonHaute-Marne LFSI Ativo 11/292,412 m
Base aérienne 115 Orange-CaritatVaucluse LFMO Ativo 14/322,407 mconcreto
Base aérienne 116 Luxeuil-Saint-SauveurHaute-Saône LFSX Ativo 11/292,433 m
Base aérienne 118 Mont-de-MarsanLandes LFBM Ativo 09/273,603 m
Base aérienne 120 CazauxGironde LFBC Ativo 06/242,398 mconcreto
Base aérienne 123 Orléans-BricyLoiret LFOJ Ativo 07/252,404 m
  • Escadron de transport 1/61 Touraine: Airbus A400M Atlas
  • Escadron de transport 4/61 Béarn: Airbus A400M Atlas
  • Escadron de transport 3/61 Poitou: Airbus A400M Atlas, De Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter
  • Escadron de transport 2/61 Franche-Comté: Lockheed C-130H / C-130H-30 Hercules
  • Centre d’instruction des équipages de transport 00.340: Airbus A400M Atlas, Lockheed C-130H Hercules
Base aérienne 125 Istres-Le TubéBouches-du-Rhône LFMI Ativo 15/333.750 mconcreto
  • Escadron de ravitaillement en vol et de transport stratégiques 1/31 Bretagne: Airbus A330 MRTT Phénix
  • Escadron de ravitaillement en vol et de transport stratégiques 2/31 Estérel: Airbus A330 MRTT Phénix
  • Escadron de transformation Phénix 3/31 Landes: Airbus A330 MRTT Phénix
  • École du personnel navigant d’essais et de réception: Various trials aircraft
  • Escadron de défense sol-air 01.950 Crau
  • Escadron de ravitaillement en vol 4/31 Sologne: C-135FR Stratotanker, KC-135RG Stratotanker
Base aérienne 126 SolenzaraCorse-du-Sud LFKS Ativo 18/362,627 m
  • Escadron d’hélicoptères 1/44 Solenzara: Airbus Helicopters AS332 Super Puma, Airbus Helicopters H225M Caracal
  • Escadron de défense sol-air
Base aérienne 133 Nancy-OcheyMeurthe-et-Moselle LFSO Ativo 02/202,400 mconcreto
Base aérienne 186 Nouméa-La TontoutaNouvelle-Calédonie NWWW Ativo 11/293,250 m
  • Escadron de transport 52 Tontouta: Airbus CN235, Airbus Helicopters SA330 Puma
Base aérienne 188 DjiboutiDjibuti HDAM Ativo 09/273.150 m
  • Escadron de chasse 3/11 Corse: Dassault Mirage 2000-5F, Dassault Mirage 2000D RMV
  • Escadron de transport 88 Larzac: Airbus CN235
  • Détachement hélicoptères: Airbus Helicopters SA330 Puma
Base aérienne 278 Ambérieu-en-BugeyAin LFXA Ativo 01/192.000 m
  • Entrepôt de l’armée de l’air 601
Base aérienne 367 Cayenne-RochambeauGuyane SOCA Ativo 08/263,205 m
  • Escadron de transport 68 Antilles-Guyane: Airbus CN235
Base aérienne 701 Salon-de-ProvenceBouches-du-Rhône LFMY Ativo 16/342,001 m
  • École de l’air et de l’espace: Cirrus SR20/SR22, Grob G 120
  • Patrouille acrobatique de France: Dassault/Dornier Alpha Jet E
  • Équipe de voltige de l’armée de l’air et de l’espace: Extra EA-330SC
  • Escadron d’instruction en vol 3/5 Comtat Venaissin: Cirrus SR20/SR22
Base aérienne 702 AvordCher LFOA Ativo 06/243,503 m
  • Escadron de détection et de contrôle aéroportés 00.036 Berry: Boeing E-3F Sentry
  • École de l’aviation de transport 00.319: Embraer EMB-121 Xingu
  • Escadron d’instruction en vol Fourchambault: Embraer EMB-121 Xingu
  • Escadron de soutien technique aéronautique 15.036 “Septaine”
Base aérienne 709 Cognac-ChâteaubernardCharente LFBG Ativo 05R/23L2,422 mconcreto08/261,814 mconcreto
  • École de l’aviation de chasse 00.315 Christian Martell: Pilatus PC-21, Grob G 120A-F
  • Escadron de drones 1/33 Belfort: General Atomics MQ-9A Reaper
  • 33e escadre de surveillance, de reconnaissance et d’attaque: General Atomics MQ-9A Reaper, Beechcraft King Air 350ER ALSR
Base aérienne 721 Rochefort-Saint-AgnantCharente-Maritime LFDN Ativo 12/302.280 m
  • École de formation des sous-officiers de l’armée de l’air et de l’espace
Base aérienne 942 Lyon-Mont VerdunRhône Ativo —
  • Commandement de la défense aérienne et des opérations aériennes
  • Centre national des opérations aériennes
Détachement air 181 La RéunionLa Réunion FMEE Ativo 12/303.200 m14/322,670 m
  • Escadron de transport 50 Réunion: Airbus CN235
Détachement air 190 Tahiti-Faa’aPolynésie française NTAA Ativo 04/223,420 m
  • Escadron de transport 82 Maine: Airbus CN235
Détachement air 365 MartiniqueMartinique TFFF Ativo 10/283,300 m
  • Détachement air 365: Airbus CN235 (detached from Cayenne)
Base aérienne 160 Dakar-OuakamSenegal GOOY Closed 2025 18/363.490 m
  • Élément air rattaché de Dakar: Airbus CN235, Transall C-160
Base aérienne 172 N’DjamenaChade FTTJ Closed 2025 05/232,800 m
Base aérienne projetée de NiameyNiger DRRN Closed 2023 09/273.000 m
  • Detachment, escadron de drones 1/33 Belfort: General Atomics MQ-9A Reaper, Dassault Mirage 2000D
Base aérienne 279 ChâteaudunEure-et-Loir LFOC Closed 2021 10/282,302 mconcreto
  • Entrepôt de l’armée de l’air 601
Base aérienne 705 Tours-Saint-SymphorienIndre-et-Loire LFOT Closed 2021 02/202,404 mconcreto
Base aérienne 102 Dijon-LongvicCôte-d’Or LFSD Closed 2016 17/352,400 mconcreto
Base aérienne 901 DrachenbronnBas-Rhin Closed 2015 —
  • Centre de détection et de contrôle
Base aérienne 103 Cambrai-ÉpinoyNord LFQI Closed 2013 10/282.500 mconcreto
Base aérienne 128 Metz-FrescatyMoselle LFSF Closed 2012 01/192,400 mconcreto
  • Headquarters formations
Base aérienne 217 Brétigny-sur-OrgeEssonne LFPY Closed 2012 05/233.000 mconcreto
  • Centre d’essais en vol: Various trials aircraft
Base aérienne 112 Reims-ChampagneMarne LFSR Closed 2011 07/252,482 mconcreto
Base aérienne 921 TavernyVal-d’Oise Closed 2011 —
  • Centre d’opérations des forces aériennes stratégiques
Base aérienne 132 Colmar-MeyenheimHaut-Rhin LFSC Fechado em 2010 01/192,400 mconcreto
Base aérienne 101 Toulouse-FrancazalHaute-Garonne LFBR Closed 2009 —
  • Transport units: Nord Noratlas, Transall C-160

Nenhuma base aérea corresponde a essa busca.

Ordem de batalha

Who is stationed where in the French Air and Space Force

Flying units by base, with the wing each belongs to. French squadrons carry provincial names — Gascogne, Normandie-Niemen, Cigognes — and most of those names are older than the aircraft by fifty years or more.

Base aérienne 113 Saint-Dizier-Robinson · LFSI4e escadre de chasse
Escadron de chasse 1/4 GascogneGascogne · Nuclear-capable fighter squadron · active
Dassault Rafale B
Escadron de chasse 2/4 La FayetteLa Fayette · Nuclear-capable fighter squadron · active
Dassault Rafale B
Escadron de transformation Rafale 3/4 AquitaineAquitaine · Rafale conversion squadron · active
Dassault Rafale B/C
Escadron de soutien technique aéronautique 15/004 “Haute-Marne”Aircraft maintenance squadron · active
—
Escadron de chasse 1/7 Provence1973–2016
Dassault Rafale C
Base aérienne 118 Mont-de-Marsan · LFBM30e escadre de chasse and the Centre d’expertise aérienne militaire
Régiment de chasse 2/30 Normandie-NiemenNormandie-Niemen · Fighter regiment · active
Dassault Rafale C
Escadron de chasse 3/30 LorraineLorraine · Fighter squadron · active
Dassault Rafale C
Escadron de chasse 1/30 Côte d’ArgentCôte d’Argent · Fighter squadron · active
Rafale B/C
Centre d’expertise aérienne militaireCEAM · Operational test and evaluation centre · active
Dassault Rafale, Dassault Mirage 2000D, Dassault/Dornier Alpha Jet
Escadron de reconnaissance 2/33 Savoie2011–2014
Dassault Mirage F1CR
Base aérienne 125 Istres-Le Tubé · LFMI31e escadre aérienne de ravitaillement et de transport stratégiques
Escadron de ravitaillement en vol et de transport stratégiques 1/31 BretagneBretagne · Air refuelling and strategic transport squadron · active
Airbus A330 MRTT Phénix
Escadron de ravitaillement en vol et de transport stratégiques 2/31 EstérelEstérel · Air refuelling and strategic transport squadron · active
Airbus A330 MRTT Phénix
Escadron de transformation Phénix 3/31 LandesLandes · A330 MRTT conversion squadron · active
Airbus A330 MRTT Phénix
École du personnel navigant d’essais et de réceptionEPNER · Test pilot school · active
Various trials aircraft
Escadron de défense sol-air 01.950 CrauGround-based air defence squadron · active
—
Escadron de ravitaillement en vol 4/31 Sologne2019–2025
C-135FR Stratotanker, KC-135RG Stratotanker
Base aérienne 702 Avord · LFOA36e escadre de commandement et de conduite aéroportés
Escadron de détection et de contrôle aéroportés 00.036 BerryBerry · Airborne early warning and control squadron · active
Boeing E-3F Sentry
École de l’aviation de transport 00.319EAT 319 · Transport crew school · active
Embraer EMB-121 Xingu
Escadron d’instruction en vol FourchambaultFourchambault · Flying instruction squadron · active
Embraer EMB-121 Xingu
Escadron de soutien technique aéronautique 15.036 “Septaine”Aircraft maintenance squadron · active
—
Base aérienne 701 Salon-de-Provence · LFMYThe Directeur général de l’École de l’air et de l’espace commands the base
École de l’air et de l’espaceAir force academy · active
Cirrus SR20/SR22
Patrouille acrobatique de FrancePatrouille de France · Aerobatic display team · active
Dassault/Dornier Alpha Jet E
Équipe de voltige de l’armée de l’air et de l’espaceEVAAE · Competition aerobatic team · active
Extra EA-330SC
Escadron d’instruction en vol 3/5 Comtat VenaissinComtat Venaissin · Flying instruction squadron · active
Cirrus SR20/SR22
Base aérienne 105 Évreux-Fauville · LFOE62e escadre de transport
Escadron de transport 1/62 VercorsVercors · Tactical transport squadron · active
Airbus CN235
Escadron de transport 3/62 VentouxVentoux · Tactical transport squadron · active
Airbus CN235
Escadron de transport franco-allemandBinational squadron · Franco-German tactical transport squadron · active
Lockheed Martin C-130J-30
Escadron électronique 5/64 Dunkerque2026–
Dassault Falcon 8X Archange
Escadron de transport 2/64 Anjou1965–2022
Transall C-160
Base aérienne 106 Bordeaux-Mérignac · LFBDCommandement des forces aériennes
Commandement des forces aériennesCFA · Force generation and training command · active
—
Escadron de transport 43 MédocMédoc · Liaison and transport squadron · active
Socata TBM 700
Base aérienne 107 Vélizy-Villacoublay · LFPVCommandement des forces aériennes stratégiques
Commandement des forces aériennes stratégiquesCFAS · Strategic air forces command · active
—
Escadron de transport 60ET 60 · Government transport squadron · active
Dassault Falcon 7X
Escadron de transport 41 VerdunVerdun · Liaison squadron · active
Socata TBM 700
Escadron d’hélicoptères 3/67 ParisisParisis · Helicopter squadron · active
Airbus Helicopters AS332 Super Puma
Base aérienne 110 Creil · LFPCCommandement de la défense aérienne et des opérations aériennes
Centre de formation et d’interprétation interarmées de l’imagerieCF3I · Imagery intelligence centre · active
—
Escadron de transport 3/60 Estérel1965–2016
Douglas DC-8, Airbus A310, Airbus A340
Base aérienne 115 Orange-Caritat · LFMO5e escadre de chasse
Escadron de chasse 1/5 VendéeVendée · Fighter squadron · active
Dassault Rafale C
Escadron d’hélicoptères 5/67 AlpillesAlpilles · Helicopter squadron · active
Airbus Helicopters AS555 Fennec
Centre d’instruction des équipages d’hélicoptères 341 Colonel Alexis SantiniCIEH 341 · Helicopter crew training centre · active
Airbus Helicopters AS555 Fennec
Escadron de chasse 2/5 Île-de-France1942–2022
Dassault Mirage 2000B/C, Dassault Mirage F1C, Dassault Mirage IIIC, Supermarine Spitfire
Base aérienne 116 Luxeuil-Saint-Sauveur · LFSX2e escadre de chasse
Escadron de chasse 1/2 CigognesCigognes · Air defence fighter squadron · active
Dassault Mirage 2000-5F
Rafale squadron (RAF7)2033–
Dassault Rafale F5
Rafale squadron (RAF8)2035–
Dassault Rafale F5
Base aérienne 120 Cazaux · LFBC8e escadre de chasse
Escadron de transition opérationnelle 1/8 SaintongeSaintonge · Operational conversion squadron · active
Dassault/Dornier Alpha Jet E
Escadron de transition opérationnelle 2/8 NiceNice · Operational conversion squadron · active
Dassault/Dornier Alpha Jet E
Escadron d’entraînement 3/8 Côte d’OrCôte d’Or · Training and adversary squadron · active
Dassault/Dornier Alpha Jet E
Escadron d’hélicoptères 1/67 PyrénéesPyrénées · Combat search and rescue squadron · active
Airbus Helicopters H225M Caracal
No. 150 Squadron, Republic of Singapore Air ForceAllied training squadron · active
Alenia Aermacchi M-346 Master
Base aérienne 123 Orléans-Bricy · LFOJ61e escadre de transport
Escadron de transport 1/61 TouraineTouraine · Tactical and strategic transport squadron · active
Airbus A400M Atlas
Escadron de transport 4/61 BéarnBéarn · Transport squadron · active
Airbus A400M Atlas
Escadron de transport 3/61 PoitouPoitou · Special operations transport squadron · active
Airbus A400M Atlas
Escadron de transport 2/61 Franche-ComtéFranche-Comté · Tactical transport squadron · active
Lockheed C-130H / C-130H-30 Hercules
Centre d’instruction des équipages de transport 00.340CIET 340 · Transport crew training centre · active
Airbus A400M Atlas
Base aérienne 126 Solenzara · LFKSBase aérienne 126
Escadron d’hélicoptères 1/44 SolenzaraSolenzara · Search and rescue squadron · active
Airbus Helicopters AS332 Super Puma
Escadron de défense sol-airGround-based air defence squadron · active
—
Base aérienne 133 Nancy-Ochey · LFSO3e escadre de chasse
Escadron de chasse 1/3 NavarreNavarre · Strike squadron · active
Dassault Mirage 2000D RMV
Escadron de chasse 2/3 ChampagneChampagne · Strike squadron · active
Dassault Mirage 2000D RMV
Escadron de chasse 3/3 ArdennesArdennes · Strike squadron · active
Dassault Mirage 2000D RMV
Base aérienne 709 Cognac-Châteaubernard · LFBGÉcole de l’aviation de chasse and 33e escadre de surveillance, de reconnaissance et d’attaque
École de l’aviation de chasse 00.315 Christian MartellEAC 315 · Fighter pilot school · active
Pilatus PC-21
Escadron de drones 1/33 BelfortBelfort · Armed drone squadron · active
General Atomics MQ-9A Reaper
33e escadre de surveillance, de reconnaissance et d’attaque33e ESRA · Surveillance, reconnaissance and attack wing · active
General Atomics MQ-9A Reaper
Base aérienne 721 Rochefort-Saint-Agnant · LFDNÉcole de formation des sous-officiers de l’armée de l’air
École de formation des sous-officiers de l’armée de l’air et de l’espaceEFSOAA · Non-commissioned officer school · active
—
Base aérienne 942 Lyon-Mont Verdun · Commandement de la défense aérienne et des opérations aériennes
Commandement de la défense aérienne et des opérations aériennesCDAOA · Air defence and air operations command · active
—
Centre national des opérations aériennesCNOA · National air operations centre · active
—
Base aérienne 278 Ambérieu-en-Bugey · LFXAService industriel de l’aéronautique
Entrepôt de l’armée de l’air 601EAA 601 · Aeronautical stores depot · active
—
Base aérienne 367 Cayenne-Rochambeau · SOCAForces armées en Guyane
Escadron de transport 68 Antilles-GuyaneAntilles-Guyane · Overseas transport squadron · active
Airbus CN235
Détachement air 181 La Réunion · FMEEForces armées dans la zone sud de l’océan Indien
Escadron de transport 50 RéunionRéunion · Overseas transport squadron · active
Airbus CN235
Base aérienne 186 Nouméa-La Tontouta · NWWWForces armées de la Nouvelle-Calédonie
Escadron de transport 52 TontoutaTontouta · Overseas transport squadron · active
Airbus CN235
Détachement air 190 Tahiti-Faa’a · NTAAForces armées en Polynésie française
Escadron de transport 82 MaineMaine · Overseas transport squadron · active
Airbus CN235
Détachement air 365 Martinique · TFFFForces armées aux Antilles
Détachement air 365Overseas air detachment · active
Airbus CN235 (detached from Cayenne)
Base aérienne 188 Djibouti · HDAMForces françaises stationnées à Djibouti
Escadron de chasse 3/11 CorseCorse · Fighter squadron · active
Dassault Mirage 2000-5F
Escadron de transport 88 LarzacLarzac · Transport squadron · active
Airbus CN235
Détachement hélicoptèresHelicopter detachment · active
Airbus Helicopters SA330 Puma
Base aérienne 104 Al Dhafra · OMAMForces françaises aux Émirats arabes unis
Escadron de chasse 1/7 ProvenceProvence · Fighter squadron · active
Dassault Rafale C
Escadron de chasse 3/30 Lorraine2010–2016
Dassault Rafale C
Escadron de chasse 1/2 Cigognes2008–2010
Dassault Mirage 2000-5F

Nenhuma unidade corresponde a essa pesquisa.

Linha do tempo

French Air and Space Force milestones, 1914 to today

1909

September: France buys its first military aeroplane. A law of 29 March 1912 organises military aeronautics as a branch of the army, and the escadrilles of 1914–18 give the service its vocabulary, its stork badges and its aces.

1928

A Ministry of Air is created. A decree of 1 April 1933 grants the air arm independence in principle, but without a staff or a budget of its own.

1934

2 July: the law that makes the Armée de l’air a service in its own right, thirteen years before the United States Air Force and a year before the Luftwaffe is announced.

1940

10 May to 25 June: the air force is caught mid-rearmament. MS.406s and Curtiss H-75 Hawks fight the Bf 109E, the Dewoitine D.520 arrives too late and in too small numbers, and the campaign is lost in six weeks. The service splits between Vichy and the Free French.

1942

November: after the Allied landings in North Africa the French air force returns to the war. The Normandie-Niemen group fights on the Eastern Front under Soviet command and Groupe de chasse Alsace flies with the RAF; French roundels are back over Germany by 1945.

1954

7 May: Dien Bien Phu falls. Eight years of air operations over Indochina with borrowed American aircraft end in a defeat that air power could supply but not prevent.

1956

October to November: Mystère IVAs and F-84Fs fly the Suez operation from Akrotiri in Cyprus and, in Israeli markings, from Ramat David and Lod. Noratlas transports drop paratroops on Port Said.

1962

Algeria ends after eight years in which the air force learned helicopter assault, close air support and improvised gunships — and lost the loyalty of some of its own generals in the putsch of April 1961.

1964

1 October: the first Mirage IVA squadron becomes operational and France joins the nuclear club with a supersonic bomber of its own design, refuelled by twelve American C-135Fs. The Forces aériennes stratégiques are born.

1986

Opération Épervier begins in Chad and runs for twenty-eight years. Jaguars, Mirage F1s and Transalls from N’Djamena become the permanent French air presence in Africa.

1991

January to February: Opération Daguet. Jaguars and Mirage 2000s fly the French share of the Gulf War from Saudi Arabia, the first time French aircraft fight in a large coalition air campaign.

1995

30 August: a Mirage 2000N of escadron de chasse 2/3 Champagne is shot down over Pale on the first night of Deliberate Force. Its crew, Frédéric Chiffot and José Souvignet, are held for 104 days and freed on 18 December.

1996

31 July: the Mirage IV gives up the nuclear strike role to the Mirage 2000N, and France scraps the land-based missiles on the Plateau d’Albion. The deterrent becomes two components: submarines and aircraft.

2011

19 March: Rafales from Saint-Dizier fire the first shots of the Libyan intervention, ahead of every other contributor. France flies about a quarter of all NATO sorties in Opération Harmattan.

2013

11 to 13 January: Opération Serval. Mirage 2000Ds from N’Djamena strike a column advancing on Bamako, and Rafales fly direct from Saint-Dizier to Gao in a nine-hour mission.

2020

11 September: the service becomes the Armée de l’air et de l’espace, taking on the military space mission. The Commandement de l’espace had been created in Toulouse a year earlier.

2022

15 August: the last French aircraft leave Mali. Burkina Faso follows in February 2023, Niger at the end of 2023, Chad on 30 January 2025 and Senegal in July 2025; Djibouti is left as the only permanent French fighter base in Africa.

2025

March: President Macron announces that Luxeuil-Saint-Sauveur will be rebuilt for two nuclear-armed Rafale F5 squadrons and the ASN4G missile, at a cost of at least 1.5 billion euros. Six Mirage 2000-5F are transferred to Ukraine from 6 February.

2026

June: the fiftieth and last Mirage 2000D RMV is handed over at Nancy-Ochey, and two French Rafale on Baltic Air Policing shoot down a drone over Latvian territory — the first air-to-air kill by a French fighter in Europe since 1945.

Histórico de combate

Todas as campanhas em que a Força Aérea e Espacial Francesa lutou, de 1939 até hoje.

Fifteen campaigns since 1939 — Indochina, Suez, Algeria, Chad, the Gulf, the Balkans, Afghanistan, Libya, the Sahel and the Levant — flown almost entirely with French-built aircraft.

15conflitos
1939Primeiro
4Aeronave perdida
3Morto
  • policiamento aéreo do flanco leste da OTAN 2022-presente Armed air policing and deterrence on NATO’s eastern border after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, with Rafale and Mirage 2000 detachments rotating through Romanian and Baltic bases
  • Operação Chammal 2014-presente French contribution to the international coalition against Islamic State: strike, armed reconnaissance and training of Iraqi forces, flown from Jordan, the United Arab Emirates and at times from the aircraft carrier
  • Operação Hamilton 2018 A single co-ordinated night strike with the United States and the United Kingdom against Syrian chemical weapons research and storage sites after the Douma attack
  • Operação Barkhane 2014-2022 Regional counter-terrorism across five Sahel states, with fighters, drones and transports operating from N’Djamena, Niamey and Gao
  • Operação Serval 2013-2014 Emergency intervention to stop an armed column advancing on Bamako, followed by an offensive to retake northern Mali

Abra o registro completo do combate

Perguntas e Respostas

Everything people ask about the French Air and Space Force

How many Rafales does France have?
The Armée de l’air et de l’espace has roughly 110 Rafale B and C in 2026, on top of the navy’s Rafale M. The last officially published count was 105 in the Chiffres clés de la défense 2025; Dassault delivered eleven more to French forces in 2025, split between the air force and the navy, and one more is programmed for 2026. Counting is genuinely hard: France sold 12 second-hand air force Rafales to Greece and 12 to Croatia, has repeatedly given up delivery slots to export customers, and lost two aircraft in a mid-air collision on 14 August 2024. Forty-two more were ordered in January 2024 for delivery from 2027.
Does France still have nuclear bombers?
Not bombers, but nuclear-armed fighters, which is the same thing in French doctrine. Two Rafale B squadrons at Saint-Dizier — the Gascogne and the La Fayette — carry the ASMPA-R stand-off nuclear missile for the Forces aériennes stratégiques, supported by A330 MRTT Phénix tankers from Istres. The dedicated nuclear bomber, the Mirage IV, gave up the role on 31 July 1996. Two more nuclear Rafale squadrons are to stand up at Luxeuil in the 2030s with the Rafale F5 and the hypersonic ASN4G missile.
What replaced the Mirage 2000?
The Rafale, but slowly and only partly. The Mirage 2000N nuclear striker was replaced by the Rafale B in 2018 and the Mirage 2000C interceptor retired in June 2022 with the Rafale taking over air defence. But the Mirage 2000D ground attack aircraft is being kept: fifty of them were put through the RMV mid-life upgrade between 2015 and 2026 and will fly into the 2030s. The Mirage 2000-5F air defence fighter survives with one squadron at Luxeuil and a detachment at Djibouti, and is due out before 2029.
Is the French Air Force any good?
By the measures that matter to a medium-sized air force, yes. It is the only European air force that delivers its own country’s nuclear weapons, the only one whose fighter is designed, built, engined and radar-equipped domestically, and it has fought more expeditionary air campaigns since 1960 than any European air force except the British. Its weakness is depth: about 180 combat aircraft is a small number for the tasks it accepts, and in July 2025 the air staff told parliament it is flying the Rafale fleet roughly 15 per cent beyond the hours it was sized for.
How many aircraft does the French Air and Space Force have?
Around 500 of all kinds: about 180 combat aircraft, 25 A400M, 12 A330 MRTT Phénix, about 20 Hercules and 27 CN-235 transports, four E-3F Sentries, ten MQ-9 Reapers, roughly 115 trainers and about 76 helicopters. France does not publish a single audited inventory the way the United States does, so totals vary by a few dozen depending on what is counted.
How many people are in the French Air and Space Force?
About 38,000 military personnel and roughly 5,000 civilians, making it around 19 per cent of French military strength. The 2024–2030 planning law sets a target of 40,000 aviators by 2030; recruitment grew 2.5 per cent in 2024, 6.4 per cent in 2025 and is forecast to grow 4.7 per cent in 2026.
Who commands the French Air and Space Force?
Général d’armée aérienne Jérôme Bellanger, chief of staff of the air and space force (CEMAAE) since September 2024. He is a Mirage 2000 RDI pilot with 2,400 flying hours and 59 combat missions, and previously commanded Saint-Dizier air base, the air academy at Salon-de-Provence and the Forces aériennes stratégiques.
Why is it called the Air and Space Force?
Because on 11 September 2020 the Armée de l’air formally took on the military space mission and renamed itself the Armée de l’air et de l’espace. The Commandement de l’espace, based in Toulouse, had been created in September 2019. France did not create a separate space service the way the United States did; it gave the job to the air force.
Does France have its own air force bases in Africa?
One: Base aérienne 188 at Djibouti, where escadron de chasse 3/11 Corse has been stationed since 1978 and flies three Mirage 2000-5F and, since August 2025, two Mirage 2000D RMV. Everything else has gone. France left Mali in August 2022, Burkina Faso in February 2023, Niger at the end of 2023, Chad on 30 January 2025 and Senegal in July 2025; the Ivory Coast base at Port-Bouët was handed over on 20 February 2025.
What is the Patrouille de France?
The French air force aerobatic display team, based at Salon-de-Provence since 1964 and one of the oldest national teams in the world. It flies eight Alpha Jets, has done since 1981, and opens the Bastille Day flypast over the Champs-Élysées every 14 July with blue, white and red smoke.
What is the ASMPA-R?
The air-launched nuclear missile carried by the French air force’s Rafale B. It is a ramjet-powered stand-off weapon with a single warhead, an upgrade of the ASMP-A that entered service in 2023, and it is being replaced around 2035 by the hypersonic ASN4G, which will fly on the Rafale F5.
Did France really fire the first shots in Libya in 2011?
Yes. On 19 March 2011, hours before the first American and British cruise missiles, French Rafales that had flown from Saint-Dizier struck vehicles of Gaddafi’s forces outside Benghazi. France went on to fly about 25 per cent of NATO sorties, 35 per cent of offensive missions and roughly 20 per cent of strikes in the campaign.
How many air bases does France have?
Fifteen air bases with runways in metropolitan France, plus about four non-flying bases and detachments and several attached air elements; six overseas in La Réunion, Guyane, Martinique, Nouvelle-Calédonie and Polynésie française and Djibouti; and one abroad, BA 104 Al Dhafra in the United Arab Emirates. Eleven metropolitan bases were closed between 2009 and 2021.
What is the SCAF or FCAS?
The Système de combat aérien du futur, the Franco-German-Spanish programme meant to replace the Rafale from about 2040 with a new fighter, drones and a combat cloud. It is stuck. Germany’s deadline of mid-April 2026 for a decision on the next phase passed without one, and Dassault and Airbus remain at odds over work share, intellectual property and whether the aircraft must be carrier-capable and nuclear-capable. France is hedging with the Rafale F5 and a national combat drone.
What is the Rafale F5?
The next major standard of the Rafale, due from the early 2030s. It will carry the ASN4G hypersonic nuclear missile from about 2035, fly with a new stealth combat drone descended from the nEUROn demonstrator, and be the aircraft of the two new nuclear squadrons at Luxeuil. Twenty aircraft of the 2024 order have been deferred to 2033–34 so they can be built as F5s from the start.
Does France operate armed drones?
Yes, ten MQ-9 Reapers, all flown by the escadron de drones 1/33 Belfort at Cognac. France bought them urgently for Mali in 2013, armed them in December 2019 — the first French armed drone strike — and upgraded the fleet to the Block 5 Extended Range standard on 19 December 2024. The European Eurodrone that was meant to replace them is roughly five years late.
What happened to the Mirage 2000s France sent to Ukraine?
France announced in June 2024 that it would transfer Mirage 2000-5F fighters to Ukraine and delivered the first on 6 February 2025. Six aircraft were prepared, modified for air-to-ground work and handed over, drawn from a fleet that numbered about 28. France has not published an updated figure for what remains, which is why the French holding is best given as roughly 22.
Where are France’s AWACS based?
At Avord, in the Cher, with the escadron de détection et de contrôle aéroportés 00.036 Berry. France owns four Boeing E-3F Sentries, bought in 1990 and progressively upgraded — the only airborne early warning aircraft owned outright by a continental Western European air force. A successor is planned for the early 2030s.
What is the Armée de l’air’s motto?
Faire face — roughly "face up to it". It comes from Georges Guynemer and the Escadrille des Cigognes of the First World War, and it is still worn by escadron de chasse 1/2 Cigognes at Luxeuil and carved into the memorial at the air academy at Salon-de-Provence.
Does France build its own fighter aircraft?
Completely. The Rafale airframe is Dassault, the M88 engine is Safran, the RBE2 active electronically scanned array radar and most of the avionics are Thales, the SPECTRA self-protection suite is Thales and MBDA, and the weapons — MICA, Meteor, SCALP, AASM and the nuclear ASMPA-R — are French or Franco-British. No other European country does the whole of that alone.
What is the Forces aériennes stratégiques?
The Strategic Air Forces Command, created in 1964 with the Mirage IV, which runs the airborne component of the French nuclear deterrent. Today it commands two Rafale B squadrons at Saint-Dizier, the tanker squadrons at Istres and the associated support, and is headquartered at Vélizy-Villacoublay. It turned sixty on 8 October 2024.
How many A400M does France have?
Twenty-five, the twenty-fifth delivered in January 2026, with two more due in 2026. France has ordered 50 in total; the planning law sets 35 by 2030 and the air force has indicated it wants more so it can retire the C-130H sooner. They are flown from Orléans-Bricy by the squadrons Touraine, Poitou and Béarn.
Has France ever lost an aircraft in combat since 1945?
Many, mostly in Indochina and Algeria, and a small number since. The best-known recent loss was a Mirage 2000N shot down by a shoulder-launched missile over Pale in Bosnia on 30 August 1995; both crew survived and were held for 104 days. France lost no manned aircraft to enemy fire in the Gulf War, Kosovo, Libya, Mali or the Levant. One MQ-9 Reaper was lost over Niger in November 2018.
What happened to the Transall?
The Franco-German C-160 Transall left French service in 2022 after more than fifty-four years, taking with it the two C-160G Gabriel signals intelligence aircraft. Its transport work went to the A400M; the signals intelligence capability has not yet been replaced, and the Falcon 8X Archange bought to fill the gap first flew on 26 July 2025.
Do French Rafales shoot at anything?
Regularly. They fly strike missions over Iraq and Syria under Opération Chammal — 21 operational sorties and nearly 76 flying hours in one week of June 2026 alone — and they hold NATO air policing alert. On 8 June 2026 two French Rafales on Baltic Air Policing destroyed a drone that had crossed into Latvian airspace from the east, over an uninhabited area.
Where can I fly a fighter jet in France?
Not from any of these bases. French military airfields do not sell flights to the public, and the Armée de l’air et de l’espace does not run passenger sorties. The nearest thing is civil-operated jet flying in ex-military types elsewhere in Europe and in the United States — MiGFlug flies the L-39 Albatros in Florida, in a real second seat with time on the controls.

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Photographs: Dylan Agbagni, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons · Photos: US Air Force / Wikimedia Commons (public domain)