Bastille Day
 

.
I know some aircraft here are civvies and from allies but (unless my adding up is Bobbins!) they have more aircraft than the RAF's flypast last year for the 100th - for Bastille day
seems wrong somehow!



Aircraft parade

Patrouille de France

- 9 AlphaJets (with the french colours red, white, blue)

Permanent posture of European security

- 1 E-3F AWACS (EDCA 00.036)
- 2 M2000-5 (2e escadre de Chasse)
- 1 Typhoon (Spain)
- 1 Typhoon (United Kingdom)

Opération Chammal (the fight against IS/ISIS/DAECH in Syria/Iraq)

- 1 C-135F (GRV 2/91 Bretagne)
- 1 Rafale C (30e escadre de Chasse)
- 1 Rafale B (4e escadre de Chasse)
- 1 Tornado (Germany)
- 1 F-16 (the Netherlands)
- 2 Rafale B (4e escadre de Chasse)
- 1 F-16 (Belgium)

Opération Barkhane (the fight against IS/ISIS/DAECH in central Africa)

- 3 M2000 D (3e escadre de Chasse)
- 2 M2000 C (2e escadre de Chasse)

Nuclear Deterrence

- 1 Airbus A330 (Phenix)
- 2 M2000-5 (2e escadre de Chasse)
- 4 Rafale (4e escadre de Chasse)

Preparation for the future

- 2 Rafale B (ETR 3/4 Aquitaine)
- 2 Alphajet (Ee 3/8 Côte d’Or)
- 1 Fokker 100 (DGA-CEV, first appearance)

Returned from deployment/ upgrade to standard F3R

- 4 Rafale M (Marine Nationale)

Training formation

- 2 Alphajet (EAC)
- 2 PC21 (EPAA, first appearance)
- 3 TB30 EPSILON (EPAA, last appearance)

Support flight

- 1 FALCON (ET 60 )
- 1 CN-235 CASA (ET 64 )
- 1 Atlantique 2 (Marine National)
- 1 Falcon 50 M (Marine National)

Operational commitment

- 1 A400M (61e Escadre)
- 1 C-160 H FS
- 1 CASA CN-235 (portugal)

European Cooperation

- 1 C-130J (ET 2/61 Franche-Comté)
- 1 C-130 (Spain)
- 1 A400M (Atlas, Germany)

Intel

- 1 C-160 Transall Gabriel

Sécurité civile

- 1 Canadair CL415
- 2 Dash Q400 MR

Helicopter parade

Attack Helicopters

- 1 Gazelle HF-v
- 2 Tigre
- 1 Tigre (Spain)
- 1 Tigre (Germany)

Assault helicopters

- 2 NH90 Caïman
- 2 Cougar
- 1 NH90 Caïman (Spain)
- 1 NH90 Caïman (Germany)
- 2 CH-47 (United Kingdom)

Special Forces

- 1 Tigre HAP
- 1 Gazelle
- 1 Cougar

IMEX Module

- 1 Puma PC
- 1 Tigre
- 1 Cougar

French-German helicopter school (EFA)

- 1 Tigre
- 1 Tigre (Spain)
- 1 Tigre (Germany)

Joint NH90 training centre (CFIA NH90)

- 1 NH90 Caïman
- 1 NH90 Caïman (Spain)
- 1 NH90 Caïman (Germany)

Territory protection and external intervention

- 1 Caracal (1/67 Pyrénées )
- 2 Fennec (3/67 Parisis )

Naval Combat and Rescue

- 1 NH90 Caïman (31F)
- 1 Panther
- 2 Lynx
- 2 Dauphin ESHE

Gendarmerie nationale

- 1 EC145
- 2 EC135

Sécurité civile

- 2 EC145

All in the one formation?
Must've looked awesome!

It certainly was!

Le voici:

typerated,

Why oh why do so many of you people just love to knock the RAF and the UK?

There was in fact the exact same number of aircraft, 103, in each flypast, and the RAF100 was entirely RAF, whereas the Bastille Day flypast included NATO allies (including the RAF!) Army, Navy, Police, Coastguard etc...

But the Fete Nationale is celebrated every year with about this level of effort. So perhaps a better comparison would be with the Queen's Birthday Parade. QBP 2019 was 14 x ac + RAFAT.

Regards
Batco

May be betraying my ignorance of French miltary dress, but who were the guys in what looked like leather apons with axes over their shoulders?

Aren't they the Veterinary Corps?

Leather aprons when shoeing and axes when a horse gets clobbered by a cannonball.

What he said :)

Pioniers de La Legion Etangere. Similar in some respects to the farriers that accompany the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiments. The uniform accoutrements (leather apron) and axes come from the tradition of the Legion as builders of roads, bridges, tunnels etc in Africa (when not fighting!)

As it happens I think the Pioneer Sergeant in British Infantry regiments is still permitted (encouraged?) to sport a beard, carries an axe on parade, and even wears a leather apron.

Batco

You know where I stand on this...
 

From the 14 July parade of 2012:

Make your mind up BEagle
 

Huh? The desert heat must have fried your brain cell, BV.

I'll slag off the bolleaux of MFTS and those who've allowed the reduction in force strength of our Armed Forces, but that's about all.

French military were always good to work with when I was serving.

Many thanks, FED and Bat. Surprising the British Army hasn't still got something similar....

The problem that the French military have is that they are still the inheritors of their 1940 reputation.

See my amended post (9) above.

Batco

No I don't think it is - RIAT not an RAF gig for one thing!

As for the not saying anything at all....

Would I be right in thinking that every-time there is a happy clappy statement from UK military and its top echelons we should reach for the union jack and stand to attention?

What happens when we know it is bollax that is being sprouted? Or at least subjects that are multiple shades of grey are explained in the extreme rosiest light?

TR
 

Surprised to see the Transall's on the schedule, I thought they were binned by now.

A cracking little shifter in my limited experience of them.

mini , the Luftwaffe personnel who had to fly between Germany and the Middle East in those things might disagree! The A400M is so much quicker, but I gather that the cruise body angle makes it rather unpleasant in those side-facing seats.

The FAF detached one to Gutersloh for BOLD GAUNTLET many years ago. A multi-national political exercise involving fighters protecting transports flying along a corridor. One day we were surprised to note all 4 FAF Mirages flying neatly in echelon behind their Transall, rather than responding to the Hunter T7A / F-16 bounce. The UK C-130 captain who'd gone along for the trip found himself the only person left on the flight deck at one point - the rest of the crew along with most of the prettiest WRAFs on the station were having a party in the freight bay and were taking photos from the ramp. At least the FAF had realised the futility of the exercise and had decided that the only thing to do was to have some fun!