The Centre d’expertise aérienne militaire, or also widely known as CEAM, is the main French aeronautical research and test centre, in south-west France, towards Spain. It is currently located at
Mont-de-Marsan Air Base, Aquitaine.
History
Mont-de-Marsan (''Base aérienne 118 Mont-de-Marsan'') was the home of France's first nuclear bombers, the
Dassault Mirage IV.
CEAM was established as the Centre d'expériences aériennes militaires at
Reims
Reims ( , , ; also spelled Rheims in English) is the most populous city in the French department of Marne, and the 12th most populous city in France. The city lies northeast of Paris on the Vesle river, a tributary of the Aisne.
Founded by ...
in northern France (
Grand Est) on 26 April 1933,
then moved to
Orléans – Bricy Air Base BA 123 (
Centre-Val de Loire
Centre-Val de Loire (, , ,In isolation, ''Centre'' is pronounced . ) or Centre Region (french: région Centre, link=no, ), as it was known until 2015, is one of the eighteen administrative regions of France. It straddles the middle Loire Valley ...
) in 1939,
and Mont-de-Marsan in 1945. CEAM is translated as the Military Air Experiment Centre.
CEAM changed its name to Centre d’expertise aérienne militaire on 1 September 2015.
Structure
It is situated at Mont-de-Marsan Air Base (ICAO: LFBM), directly to the north of Mont-de-Marsan, in
Landes
''Landes'', or ''Lanas'' in Gascon, means moorland or heath.
''Landes'' and ''Lanas'' come from the Latin ''plānus'' meaning “‘flat, even, level, plain’”. They are therefore cognate with the English plain (and plane), the Spanish word '' ...
,
Aquitaine. It is accessed via the D53 road (for
Canenx-et-Réaut
Canenx-et-Réaut is a commune in the Landes department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France.
Population
See also
*Communes of the Landes department
The following is a list of the 327 communes of the Landes department of France
...
), off the D834. The north–south
A65 autoroute is a few miles to the east.
See also
*
CEA Cesta CEA/Cesta or simply Cesta (french: Centre d'études scientifiques et techniques d'Aquitaine; en, Center for scientific and technical study of Aquitaine) is a French research facility ( CEA, Direction of Military Applications) dedicated to the desi ...
, where the French design
their nuclear weapons
*
French air defence radar systems The French air defence organisation is integrated in the military Armée de l’Air (ALA), the French Air Force.
The defence of the French national airspace has always been based on 2 main aspects:
* the peacetime security of the French airspace ...
References
External links
CEAMFrench government
{{DEFAULTSORT:Centre d'expertise aérienne militaire
Military units and formations of the French Air and Space Force
Military units and formations established in 1933
1933 establishments in France
Mont-de-Marsan
Organizations based in Reims
Research institutes established in 1933
Research institutes in France
Military research of France