RIAT 2017 Fairford Wednesday/Thursday arrivals days -U2, Greek F-4, Rafale, Flanker at Fairford

French Airforce Dassault Rafale @airtattoo @RIATAirOps pic.twitter.com/zEQ18PgD49

— This is Flight (@tif_live) July 12, 2017

Arrived at RIAT today in beautiful weather. We brought the swedish flag! @airtattoo #RIAT17 #airshow #sweden #england #wingman #saab #gripen pic.twitter.com/q1IKCMXgZn

— Gripen Solo Display (@gripendisplay) July 12, 2017

USAF U2. video of this will be available via this is flight soon. pic.twitter.com/psnT4bACnf

— This is Flight (@tif_live) July 12, 2017

We all like to see a Phantom, rare birds now. @airtattoo #riat17 Greek Airforce pic.twitter.com/7X0bxqewcc

— This is Flight (@tif_live) July 12, 2017

Rafale à Kandahar 2009-2011 - new pilot memoir e-book describes the Rafale's missions in Afghanistan

On 13 January 2009 three Rafales from the escadron de chasse 1/7 " Provence " based at St Dizier (BA 113 " Commandant Antoine de Saint Exupéry ") flew into Kandahar in Afghanistan after a seven-hour flight, one of the longest then undertaken by the Rafale.....once in theatre some 20 missions/week were flown, 'convoy surveillance', 'TICs' ('troupes au combat') in support of ground forces in contact and the so-called 'show of force' high speed low passes ( 500 knots at 200 feet) to keep heads down. The Rafales carried four laser-guided bombs and the Damocles target-designating pod and deployed on-board cannon. Missions such as the one described by 'Capitaine R.' in the French Defence ministry video below could last up to five hours and involve several refuellings. Up until his deployment 'Capitaine R' had only fired the Rafale's cannon twice!.. The French Mirage 2000D and Rafales were withdrawn in December 2011...

Capitaine Romain published his 229-page account (in French) of the Rafale's time in Afghanistan in an e-book currently available on amazon for less than one euro and he describes some of his activities in the video below..short translated extracts to follow

En vol avec les chasseurs de Kandahar by ministeredeladefense


Afghanistan : 3 Rafale à Kandahar by ministeredeladefense

First Rafale sorties of Operation Serval over Mali - RAF C-17 cargo drop, Mirage 2000 D detachment to Bamako

Rafale at N'Djamena airport, Chad   

"...Air Force commanders had just 48 hours to prepare the first Rafale strike against jihadists in Mali and it was mission accomplished. The French Air Force made a big splash Sunday morning. "A perfect mission. Few air forces could have deployed such a strike force in such a short time "  stated the Chief of Staff of the Air Force, Denis Mercier. Flying their first sorties under the umbrella of Operation Serval, Rafales destroyed a training camp, several storage depots and logistics buildings belonging to the Islamist group Mujao in Gao and Taoussa. Mission accomplished. Preparing the first Rafale sorties took all  resources of the Air Force over a 48-hour period..On Friday morning, ahead of the decisions being taken at political level, the staff of the Air Force started to bring to readiness  all its Rafale bases, ie Al Dhafra in the UAE, Mont-de-Marsan and Saint-Dizier. By late evening, a strike against jihadist bases was decided. It was to be flown from air base 113, Saint-Dizier. Shortly before midnight, the type of strike to be flown was confirmed. All day Saturday was spent equipping and arming four Rafales at Saint-Dizier. A further two aircraft from Mont-de-Marsan were added to the strike force as eventual replacements in case of possible technical problems with the Saint-Dizier aircraft. On Saturday afternoon the pace quickened. At around 13h00 the pilots were briefed on the first four targets. They prepared the sortie using images of the targets taken by Atlantique 2 reconnaissance machines and by the Pleiades satellite system . The pilots studied their flightplans, selected their weapons. At around 6 pm the decision was taken to schedule take off for 7 am the next morning. At 10 pm , two new targets were added. The pilots incorporated them into their mission on their return to the base after snatching four hours of rest. The time was then 3:30 am, Sunday morning. They would eventually get airborne at 7:30 am. The mission lasted 9 and a half hours in total. Five in-flight refuelings, provided by C 135 tankers were required and the aircraft landed at N'Djamena airport, Chad. Attacks on Gao were quick and made with successive waves of two aircraft. In Taoussa, the strategy is different: a "compressed" attack with the four planes together. The entire operation was followed live from the operational centre of Air Force Command in Paris and the national air operations centre in Lyons...." 

 My translation from http://www.lalsace.fr/actualite/2013/01/16/9-h-35-en-vol



Opération Serval - a detachment of three Mirage 2000 D fighters deployed for air cover of the Mali capital Bamako on 17 January...

https://www.facebook.com/armeefrancaise?ref=ts&fref=ts

latest update from the French Ministry of Defence web site

http://www.defense.gouv.fr/operations/mali/actualite/operation-serval-point-de-situation-du-19-janvier-2013

" .....latest update 18-19 January...

Today aircraft deployed on Operation Serval are continuing their mission flying around ten sorties, of which half were flown by the fighter arm. Our aircraft are continuing to track the movements of terrorist groups while striking at identified ground targets in the region of Diabali..."

Du 18 janvier 18h, jusqu'au 19 janvier à 18h
Aujourd’hui, les avions de l’opération Serval ont poursuivi leurs missions avec une dizaine de sorties dont la moitié pour la chasse. Ils continuent de surveiller les mouvements des groupes terroristes tout en maintenant leurs frappes sur des cibles identifiées au sol dans la région de Diabali.


http://www.canada.com/Canadian+completes+first+cargo+drop+Mali/7839880/story.html

Canadian and RAF C-17s have completed their first cargo drops in Mali

70th anniversary of the famed Normandie Niemen

The French Air Force (Armée de l'air ) has just celebrated the 70th anniversary of the famed Normandie Niemen at Mont de Marsan as it reforms on the Rafale. Present at the ceremony was this Yak-3 along with Normandie veteran Georges Masurel, 91 years old, a former Yak mechanic who served in Russia from November 1942 to October 1943. While a Yak-3 and a Mirage F-1 were present, of the other aircraft flown by the Normandie Niemen there was no NC-900 (French version of the  FW-190) nor Mosquito, a type that the unit flew in Indo-china. 

Along with the Cigognes, the Normandie-Niemen must be one of the most "symbolic" of all Armée de l'air units today. As an aside the group has also recently acquired a balalaïka presented in 1960 by General Zakharov to Héléne Pouyade, daughter of former Normandie wartime CO Pierre Pouyade...

More pics of the aircraft at 

http://forums.airshows.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=46821

More on the Normandie Niemen on this blog
http://falkeeinsgreatplanes.blogspot.co.uk/2012/02/normande-niemen-groupe-de-chasse-3.html

disbandment of Escadron de Chasse 1/12 and closure of Cambrai-Epinoy - Armée de de l'Air Mirage

French defence cuts coming into effect and starting to bite. Yesterday saw the last flying activity at Cambrai-Epinoy BA 103 with the 'official' disbandment ceremony of EC 1/12 "Cambrésis" with their Tiger banner and traditions being tranferred to the EC 1/7 "Provence" flying the Rafale at Saint-Dizier. Note the Rafale toting its MICA air-to-air missiles. EC 1/12 has been at Cambrai-Epinoy since 1952 and the height of the Cold War. The three runways at Cambrai were constructed by the German Fritz Todt Organisation in 1941 and their construction employed over 1,000 local workers. The Dornier bombers of Kampfgeschwader KG 2 operated through much of WWII against the UK from here.

Pics by work colleague and good friend Nico Charpentier, trying out a brand-new 1,300 euro lens! Click on the images for a larger view.


More from Cambrai on this blog
http://falkeeinsgreatplanes.blogspot.co.uk/2011/07/nato-tigers-50th-anniversary-meet-ba.html

Report on the dissolution of the EC 1/12 in the regional press, la Voix du Nord
http://www.lavoixdunord.fr/Locales/Cambrai/actualite/Cambrai/2012/03/30/article_ba-103-dernier-acte-scene-1-alinea-1-12.shtml