France Military News, Reports, Data, etc.

The French Defense Procurement Agency (DGA) ordered on Jan. 29 2016 four brand new C-130J Super Hercules military airlifters from the US Air Force. Two of the aircraft will be fitted with aerial refuelling systems, the DGA announced today.

The two first aircraft will be delivered by late 2017 and early 2018 and the two aerial refuelling aircraft in 2019.

Click to expand...

Thales announced the first flight of the SEARCHMASTER radar, developed as part of France’s Atlantique 2 (ATL2) maritime patrol aircraft (MPA) upgrade programme, and available for export. According to Thales, this major milestone for the ATL2 upgrade and the SEARCHMASTER is proof of the advanced state of development and maturity of the radar, just two years after the contract was awarded.

Click to expand...

Advanced tactics for Mirage 2000C 2/5 of the Ile-de-France

While the Mirage 2000N of Lafayette pack up in Jordan, the Mirage 2000C of the fighter squadron 2/5 Ile-de-France are installed in Niger, near the Mirage 2000D. Now they can also carry four bombs under their belly (GBU-12 or smooth Mk82), like the open configuration on other Mirage 2000 D and N. operational necessity foul, this configuration has not was used in the Sahel.

The pilots are also trained since June under the twin steering night vision (NVG). These JVN increase the service to the Army, and tomorrow, as will the cannon shot. For now, only the Rafale hold this capability night gunnery. Historically, the pilots had been trained in the 90s, but the experience did not survive due to lack of ... JVN, reserved for "muds" (fighter-bombers).

Other requests for improvements were noted by deployed personnel, such as the use of encrypted stations, or integrated GPS. For now, the drivers compensate by using tablets ...

Click to expand...

FORBIN said:

Transport Fleet,
14 C-130H
8 A-400M
36 C-160
27 CN-235

Click to expand...

In early February 2016, the French Navy's (Marine Nationale) Aquitaine class multi-mission frigate (FREMM) Provence and the Royal Navy Daring class (Type 45) Destroyer HMS Defender sailed in formation for more than two days off Sri Lanka. Both vessels were together part of the Charles de Gaulle carrier strike group in the Gulf.

Click to expand...

Under current plans the French Army will operate 200 Leclerc MBTs, which will be modernised by Nexter Systems. However, this may now be increased to 225.

Speaking to IHS Jane's on 8 February, a French Army spokesperson said that increasing the number of MBTs to 225 was one of a number of adjustments being proposed in the French Army's SCORPION modernisation programme. The reasons behind the proposal is unclear, although they are likely to include concerns over Russia and the importance of heavy armour on recent battlefields in Ukraine, Syria, and Iraq.

Nexter was awarded a EUR330 million (USD372 million) contract on 5 March 2015 by French defence procurement agency (DGA) for the Leclerc element of the SCORPION programme. This includes the modernisation of 18 Leclerc armoured recovery vehicles (ARVs). This contract as yet remains unchanged, a DGA spokesperson told IHS Jane's .

Nexter is scheduled to complete the development, and begin deliveries, of the modernised Leclerc Rénové (R) in 2020. The modernisation effort is aimed at increasing the MBT's lethality, its survivability and to integrate it into the digital battlespace.

Lethality enhancements include adding a remote weapon station, armed with a 7.62 mm machine gun; adding new 120 mm/52 cal ammunition. A modular protection kit will be added to improve the Leclerc's ability to withstand attacks from rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs) and improvised explosive devices (IEDs), and an IED jammer will be added. A variety of C4I systems will also be added, including the Bull SICS C4I system, the Thales CVCS vectronics system, a new Thales communications suite, GPS, and a multifunction display system.

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!

Click to expand...

French Army Air Corps Creating 4th Helo Brigade

PARIS — The French Army Air Corps is well on the way to creating a fourth helicopter brigade and has been upgraded to a more integrated aviation command, Army Maj. Gen. Olivier de la Motte said Feb. 12.

The Army aviation command will draw on 5,000 personnel and be backed with a working budget of €1.2 billion (us $1.4 billion), he told a conference on air-land combat organized by weekly magazine Air & Cosmos.

“That is not bad for a small and medium-sized company,” he said. The headquarters staff will see a 50 percent increase to 150 personnel.

Helicopters saw a high level of activity last year, with the “neutralization” of some 10 tons of ammunition, he said. Pilots are now flying long distances across extreme desert climate conditions in the Barkhane operation. The force has previously flown urban operations in Mali, mountainous Afghanistan, and across the sea in Libya.

A more independent Army Air Corps is part of the Army in Contact project, an effort to sharpen the organization of the service, he said. There is also a more horizontal rather than vertical approach with the services, as the aviation command trains crews, maintenance staff and supports the services in the field. The command also supports the special forces.

The fourth helicopter brigade, standing up July 1 and based at Clermont Ferrand, central France, is a major element in the role of the aviation command, he said. The new brigade will be staffed by 1,000 personnel and fly 162 helicopters, with some 60 percent of the aircraft assigned.

Among projects are upgrade of the Tiger attack helicopter to Mark 2 and 3, NH90 Caiman helicopter adapted for the special forces, and a light joint helicopter to replace the Gazelle.
Tiger upgrades will include digital systems, rockets and missiles, and night vision, de la Motte said. The Gazelle has been adapted to digital but the other helicopters are still based on control dials.

The Army Air Corps supports 147 reconnaissance and attack helicopters, including Gazelle and Tiger, 115 transport and assault helicopters, including Puma, Cougar and Caracal, and 67 specialist aircraft, including Fennec for training pilots, he said.

There are 450 pilots, and 2,200 maintenance personnel, with the command supporting operations of the Army, Air Force, Navy and paramilitary Gendarmerie.

There are 32 helicopters in overseas deployment, and 23 on standby for operations. The service has lost one Tiger, downed in Afghanistan, and a second Tiger has been badly damaged.

Army Air Corps and Héli Union, a services and training firm, backed the conference, which was held at the French Aero Club

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!

Click to expand...