French Naval Aviation | |
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Force maritime de l'aéronautique navale | |
Founded | 20 March 1912 |
Country | France |
Branch | French Navy |
Type | Naval aviation |
Size | 6,800 personnel 178 aircraft [1] [2] |
Nickname(s) | Sky Navy 'La Marine du Ciel |
Motto(s) | Honneur, patrie, valeur, discipline |
Commanders | |
Current commander | Contre-amiral Eric Janicot |
French Navy |
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Command |
Components |
Equipment |
Personnel |
History |
Awards |
French Naval Aviation (often abbreviated in French to: Aéronavale (contraction of Aéronautique navale), or Aviation navale, or more simply l'Aéro) is the naval air arm of the French Navy. The long-form official designation is Force maritime de l'aéronautique navale. Born as a fusion of aircraft carrier squadrons and the naval patrol air force, the Aéronavale was created in 1912. The force is under the command of a flag officer officially titled Admiral of Naval Aviation (ALAVIA) with his headquarters at Toulon naval base. It has a strength of around 6,800 military and civilian personnel. It operates from four airbases in Metropolitan France and several detachments in foreign countries or French overseas territories. Carrier-borne pilots of the French Navy do their initial training at Salon-de-Provence Air Base after which they undergo their carrier qualification with the US Navy.
Type | Origin | Class | Role | Introduced | In service | Total | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bréguet Atlantique II | France | Turboprop | ASW | 22 | [2] | ||
Dassault Falcon 10 M | France | Jet | Utility | 6 | [2] | ||
Dassault Falcon 50 M | France | Jet | Patrol | 8 | [2] | ||
Dassault Falcon 200 Guardian | France | Jet | Patrol | 5 | [2] | ||
Dassault Rafale M | France | Jet | Multirole | 42 [3] | [2] [4] | ||
Embraer EMB 121 Xingu | Brazil | Turboprop | Utility | 11 | [2] | ||
Eurocopter AS365 Dauphin | France | Rotorcraft | SAR | 15 | [2] | ||
Eurocopter AS565 Panther | France | Rotorcraft | Utility | 16 | [2] | ||
Grumman E-2C Hawkeye | USA | Turboprop | AEW&C | 3 | [2] | ||
Mudry CAP 10 | France | Propeller | Trainer | 7 | [2] | ||
NHIndustries NH90 Caïman Marine | France | Rotorcraft | ASW/ SAR | 27 | [2] | ||
Airbus Helicopters H160 | France | Rotorcraft | ASW/ SAR | 6 | [2] |
Immediately after the end of World War II, the Aeronavale only had Supermarine Seafire Mk.III ( Flottille 1F) and Douglas SBD Dauntless dive bombers ( Flotilles 3F et 4F).
The flight personnel of the French Navy falls into three categories: fighter aviation, fixed-wing aviation and helicopter aviation.
Operationally the French Naval Aviation has four components:
Operational squadrons are known as Flottilles and normally consist of 12 aircraft :
Shore-based training and transport squadrons are known as Escadrilles de Servitude :
Squadron | Insignia | Type | Aircraft | Base | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Embarked Air Group (Le Groupe aérien embarqué) [5] | ||||||
4F | Fixed wing | E-2C Hawkeye | Lann Bihoué | Carrier airborne early warning | [6] | |
11F | Fixed wing | Rafale M | Landivisiau | Strike fighter | [7] | |
12F | Fixed wing | Rafale M | Landivisiau | Strike fighter | [8] | |
17F | Fixed wing | Rafale M | Landivisiau | Strike fighter | [9] Ended conversion to Rafale M in June 2016. | |
Rotary | Eurocopter AS365 Dauphin | Hyères | Plane guard | Not part of the GAE. Charles de Gaulle set sail on cruises with two Dauphin helicopters from 35F. | ||
Naval Patrol and Maritime Surveillance Aviation (l'Aviation de patrouille et de surveillance maritime) [10] | ||||||
21F | Fixed wing | Atlantique 2 | Lann Bihoué | Anti-submarine warfare / Naval patrol | [11] Detachments at Dakar and Djibouti. | |
23F | Fixed wing | Atlantique 2 | Lann Bihoué | Anti-submarine warfare / Naval patrol | [12] | |
24F | Fixed wing | Falcon 50 M | Lann Bihoué | Maritime surveillance / Search and rescue | [13] | |
25F | Fixed wing | Falcon 200 Guardian | GAM Faa'a | Maritime surveillance / Search and rescue | [14] Detachment at Nouméa. | |
Shipborne and Shore-based Helicopters (Les hélicoptères embarqués et basés à terre) | ||||||
31F | Rotary | NH90 Caïman | Hyères | Search and rescue | [15] | |
32F | Rotary | Airbus Helicopters H160M Guépard | Lanvéoc | Previously used SA321G Super Frelon. [16] | ||
33F | Rotary | NH90 Caïman | Lanvéoc | Anti-submarine warfare / Search and rescue | [17] | |
34F | Rotary | Eurocopter AS365 Dauphin/NH90 Caïman | Lanvéoc | Anti-submarine warfare | Disbanded 4 September 2020. Planned to re-activate in 2021 [18] operating leased SA365M3 Dauphins from Heli-Union and NHV as temporary equipment. [16] To convert to NH90 Caïman. [19] | |
35F | Rotary | Eurocopter AS365 Dauphin SPI | Hyères | Search and rescue | Detachments at La Rochelle, Le Touquet-Paris-Plage [20] and Faa'a. Uses additional leased AS365N3 from Heli-Union. [16] | |
36F | Rotary | Eurocopter AS565 Panther | Hyères | Small ship flights | [21] | |
Support Aviation (l'Aviation de soutien) | ||||||
10S | Rotary/ Fixed wing/UAV | Schiebel S-100 Serval | Hyères | Experimental | [22]Aviation and airborne weapons research and development, evaluation at several locations. | |
22S | Rotary | Dauphin, EC120 Colibri | Lanvéoc | Rotary operational training / Liaison | ||
28F | Fixed wing | Embraer Xingu | Lann Bihoué | Naval patrol and maritime surveillance operational training / Utility / Liaison | [23] | |
50S | Fixed wing | SR20 and CAP-10 | Lanvéoc | Elementary flying training | [22] | |
57S | Fixed wing | Falcon 10 M | Landivisiau | Combat aviation operational training | [24] |
This is a list of retired aircraft that has flown with French Naval Aviation. [25]