The Strategic Air Forces (FAS) (french: Commandement des Forces Aériennes Stratégiques (CFAS)) is a

command Command may refer to: Computing * Command (computing), a statement in a computer language * COMMAND.COM, the default operating system shell and command-line interpreter for DOS * Command key, a modifier key on Apple Macintosh computer keyboards ...

of the

French Air and Space Force The French Air and Space Force (AAE) (french: Armée de l'air et de l'espace, ) is the air and space force of the French Armed Forces. It was the first military aviation force in history, formed in 1909 as the , a service arm of the French Arm ...

. It was created on January 14, 1964, and directs France's nuclear bombardment force. The headquarters was formerly at Taverny Air Base, but has now moved to Vélizy – Villacoublay Air Base. '' Général de corps aérien''

Patrick Charaix Patrick may refer to: *Patrick (given name), list of people and fictional characters with this name *Patrick (surname), list of people with this name People *Saint Patrick (c. 385–c. 461), Christian saint * Gilla Pátraic (died 1084), Patrick o ...

is the current commander. This is the equivalent of a lieutenant-general's position. He took command in 2012, after a year as the deputy commander. He took over from General Paul Fouilland, in command from 2007-2012.

History

Initially, the ''Force de Frappe'' consisted of only of the 92 Bombardment Wing (Escadre), established in 1955 and operating 40 Sud Aviation Vautour IIB bombers.Gunston, Bill. Bombers of the West. New York: Charles Scribner's and Sons; 1973. p105 These were considered marginal for a strategic bomber role and work began almost immediately on a replacement. In May 1956 a requirement for what became the

Dassault Mirage IV The Dassault Mirage IV was a French supersonic strategic bomber and deep- reconnaissance aircraft. Developed by Dassault Aviation, the aircraft entered service with the French Air Force in October 1964. For many years it was a vital part of the ...

bomber was drawn up; this bomber was designed to carry nuclear

gravity bomb An unguided bomb, also known as a free-fall bomb, gravity bomb, dumb bomb, or iron bomb, is a conventional or nuclear aircraft-delivered bomb that does not contain a guidance system and hence simply follows a ballistic trajectory. This descri ...

s over targets in the Eastern bloc at supersonic speeds and was declared operational in October 1964. In May 1964, Genéral Marie, FAS commander, was replaced by Général Philippe Maurin, former commander of the Tactical Air Forces (FATAC). General Maurin later became French Air Force chief of staff in 1967. The first alert by a

armed with AN-11 bombs, and a

Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker The Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker is an American military aerial refueling aircraft that was developed from the Boeing 367-80 prototype, alongside the Boeing 707 airliner. It is the predominant variant of the C-135 Stratolifter family of transpor ...

was executed on October 8, 1964: from that point, a permanent alert was maintained.
Historique - Chronologie Détaillée, Historique - Chronologie Détaillée, 2006, Forces aériennes stratégiques, March 1, 2008 In addition, the French aircraft carrier Verdun, French aircraft carrier ''Verdun'' was envisaged to have deployed bomber aircraft at sea. In April 1965, an

intermediate-range ballistic missile An intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) is a ballistic missile with a range of 3,000–5,500 km (1,864–3,418 miles), between a medium-range ballistic missile (MRBM) and an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). Classifying ...

launch base, part of the Strategic Air Forces was established. It was set up on the

plateau d'Albion In geology and physical geography, a plateau (; ; ), also called a high plain or a tableland, is an area of a highland consisting of flat terrain that is raised sharply above the surrounding area on at least one side. Often one or more sides ha ...

, Air Base 200 Apt-Saint-Christol (french: base aérienne 200 Apt-Saint-Christol) and equipped with underground launch missile silos. It was operational from August 2, 1971, until dismantling on September 16, 1996. In the spring of 1966, the deterrent force reached the strength of nine squadrons. In 1973, this deterrence force comprised 60 Mirage IV spread out among nine bases in metropolitan France. The Mirage IV-P version armed with the Air-Sol Moyenne Portée (ASMP-A) missile entered service in 1986. From 1988, Mirage 2000N began to enter service. All bomber versions of the Mirage IV were retired by 1996. Since the 1990s, Strategic Air Forces aircraft may also be tasked to carry out conventional air strikes as part of France's exterior military operations.

Structure

From 1963 - 2007, the Strategic Air Forces were headquartered at an underground command centre, which also welcomed the same year the Operations Center of the Strategic Air Forces (french: Centre d’Opérations des Forces Aériennes Stratégiques (COFAS)). The command post was built 50 meters under the ground, with a

fallout shelter A fallout shelter is an enclosed space specially designated to protect occupants from radioactive debris or fallout resulting from a nuclear explosion. Many such shelters were constructed as civil defense measures during the Cold War. Durin ...

destined for the executive power in case of

nuclear war Nuclear warfare, also known as atomic warfare, is a theoretical military conflict or prepared political strategy that deploys nuclear weaponry. Nuclear weapons are weapons of mass destruction; in contrast to conventional warfare, nuclear wa ...

; this command post was in full use in 1967. In 1968, CFAS headquarters was located at Taverny Air Base (BA 921) under the Montmorency Forest. In 1968, at the peak of the highest alert phases, 62

Mirage IV The Dassault Mirage IV was a French supersonic strategic bomber and deep-reconnaissance aircraft. Developed by Dassault Aviation, the aircraft entered service with the French Air Force in October 1964. For many years it was a vital part of the ...

(out of which nine were on operational alert and capable of "being engaged in 5 minutes while the remainder would follow within the hour,La mise en place et le développement de la première generatio
institut de stratégie (ISC)
2005, Philippe Vougny, général de corps aérien, Commandant les Forces Aériennes Stratégiques with the alert phase readiness increasing to 15 minutes, from 1964 until 1990 respectively) formed the nucleus of the 3 Escadres Bombardment (EB) ( the 91st Bombardment Escadre (french: 91^e Escadre de Bombardement), 91^e EB - the 93rd Bombardment Escadre (french: 93^e Escadre de Bombardement), 93 ^e EB - , and the 94th Bombardment Escadre (french: 94^e Escadre de Bombardement), 94^e EB) representing several bombardments units out of which 1 training center: * EB 1/91 « Gascogne » formed 1 October 1964 at Air Base 118 Mont-de-Marsan at

Mont-de-Marsan Mont-de-Marsan (; Occitan: ''Lo Mont de Marçan'') is a commune and capital of the Landes department, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, southwestern France. Population Military installations The French Air and Space Force operates the '' Constantin Ro ...

* EB 2/94 « Marne » (french: Escadron de Bombardement 2/94 Marne) formed 24 February 1965 at Saint-Dizier Air Base * EB 2/91 « Bretagne » formed 1 April 1965, at Cazaux Air Base (BA 120) at

Cazaux Cazaux () is a commune of the Ariège department in southwestern France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in t ...

. * EB 3/91 « Beauvaisis » (french: Escadron de Bombardement 3/91 Beauvaisis) formed 1 June 1965 at Creil Air Base (BA 110). Dissolved 30 June 1976. * EB 3/93 « Sambre » le 6 July 1965 at Cambrai Air Base at

Cambrai Cambrai (, ; pcd, Kimbré; nl, Kamerijk), formerly Cambray and historically in English Camerick or Camericke, is a city in the Nord department and in the Hauts-de-France region of France on the Scheldt river, which is known locally as the Esca ...

. Dissolved 30 June 1976. * EB 2/93 « Cevennes » formed 31 July 1965 at BA 115 at

Orange Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower * Orange (colour), from the color of an orange, occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum ...

. Later redesignated « EB 3/91 Cévennes », the Escadron/Squadron was dissolved in 1983.Dissolved in 1983 * EB 1/93 « Guyenne » le 15 October 1965 at Istres-Le Tube Air Base at Istres. Redesignated EB 1/94 on 30 June 1976 and transferred to

Avord Air Base Avord Air Base or BA 702 (french: Base Aérienne 702 Capitaine Georges Madon), named after Captain Georges Madon, is a base of the French Air and Space Force (Armée de l'air et de l'espace) located north northwest of Avord in central France ...

. * EB 1/94 « Bourbonnais » on 1 March 1966 at

at Avord. Dissolved on 30 June 1976 * EB 3/94 « Arbois » (french: Escadron de bombardement 3/94 Arbois) on 1 June 1966 at Aerial Base 116 Luxeuil-Saint Sauveur (BA 116) at Luxeuil * Instruction Center of Strategic Air Forces 328 (french: Centre d'instruction des Forces aériennes stratégiques 328 (CIFAS)) created on 25 at Bordeaux-Mérignac Air Base Jointly, can be added 12 Boeing C-135F aerial refuelling aircraft (of which 3 are on operational alert), dispersed into 3 Escadrons (ERV) : * ERV 4/91 « Landes » created on 1 January 1964 at Mont-de-Marsan Air Base (BA 118) at

* ERV 4/93 « Aunis » created on 13 July 1965 on Aerial Base 125 Istres-Le Tubé at Istres. Later became ERV 4/94 « Bretagne » * ERV 4/94 « Sologne » created on 15 April 1966 at

(BA 702) at Avord. In addition to the command, can be added Aerial Base Apt-Saint-Christol (BA 200). BA 200 was created in April 1967 under the Plateau d'Albion. Independent from the Strategic Air Forces (french: Forces Aériennes Stratégiques, FAS), several installations were utilized by the latter: * The center of experimentation of the Pacific (CEP) in

French Polynesia )Territorial motto: ( en, "Great Tahiti of the Golden Haze") , anthem = , song_type = Regional anthem , song = "Ia Ora 'O Tahiti Nui" , image_map = French Polynesia on the globe (French Polynesia centered).svg , map_alt = Location of French ...

, created on July 1, 1963, composed of: ** one headquarter staff

Papeete Papeete ( Tahitian: ''Papeete'', pronounced ) is the capital city of French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of the French Republic in the Pacific Ocean. The commune of Papeete is located on the island of Tahiti, in the administrative subdivisi ...

, ** advanced Aerial Base 185 Hao (french: BA 185) at Hao created on July 1, 1966 and dissolved in 2000, ** one testing surface area at Moruroa ** one testing surface area at

Fangataufa Fangataufa (or Fangatafoa) is an uninhabited coral atoll in the eastern part of the Tuamotu Archipelago in French Polynesia. The atoll has been fully-owned by the French state since 1964. From 1966 to 1996 it was used as a nuclear test site by th ...

In 1985, CFAS had two squadrons of S-3 IRBMs at the Plateau d'Albion, six squadrons of

As (at Mont de Marsan, Cazaux, Orange, Istres, St Dizier, and EB 3/94 at Luxeuil), and three squadrons of

KC-135 The Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker is an American military aerial refueling aircraft that was developed from the Boeing 367-80 prototype, alongside the Boeing 707 airliner. It is the predominant variant of the C-135 Stratolifter family of transpo ...

Fs, as well as the training/reconnaissance unit, CIFAS 328, at

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefecture ...

. On 16 July 1999, BA 200 on the Plateau d'Albion was transferred and renamed as Quartier Maréchal Kœnig, to house the 2nd Foreign Engineer Regiment (2e REG) and the bi-static space surveillance station GRAVES of the

General Directorate for External Security The General Directorate for External Security (french: link=no, Direction générale de la Sécurité extérieure, DGSE) is France's foreign intelligence agency, equivalent to the British MI6 and the American CIA, established on 2 April 1982. ...

. FAS Headquarters was moved on 26 September 2007 from Taverny to

Air Base 942 Lyon – Mont Verdun The atmosphere of Earth is the layer of gases, known collectively as air, retained by Earth's gravity that surrounds the planet and forms its planetary atmosphere. The atmosphere of Earth protects life on Earth by creating pressure allowing for ...

under Mount Verdun. Lyon - Mont Verdun was originally a secondary operations centre. In 2008, 60 Mirage 2000N of the Strategic Air Forces were stationed at two airbases. RafaleBGascogne

In 2014, the Strategic Air Forces comprise two nuclear squadrons with more than 43 aircraft, numbering around 1400 personnel: * Escadron de Chasse 1/4 Gascogne (french: Escadron de Chasse 1/4 Gascogne) at Saint-Dizier – Robinson Air Base, armed with more than 20 Rafale B aircraft. * Escadron de Chasse 2/4 La Fayette (french: Escadron de Chasse 2/4 La Fayette) at

Istres-Le Tubé Air Base Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (french: Base Aérienne 125 or BA 125) is a large multi-role tasked French Air and Space Force base located near Istres, northwest of Marseille, France. The airport facilities are also known as Istres - Le Tubé ( ...

, armed with more than 20 Mirage 2000N aircraft. The Mirage 2000N was planned to be retired from service in September 2018, with the La Fayette Squadron converting to Rafale B. Both fighter squadrons were to be stationed at Saint-Dizier – Robinson Air Base in order to improve training and logistics. Forward operating locations for dispersion of nuclear-armed Rafale flights will be retained at other air bases, in line with the French redundancy practice to prevent taking out the aerial nuclear arm with a single massive strike. The

Groupe de Ravitaillement en Vol 02.091 Bretagne The Groupe de ravitaillement en vol 2/91 ''Bretagne'' (french: Groupe de ravitaillement en vol 2/91 Bretagne) or Air Supply Group 2/91 ''Bretagne'' is a unit of the French Air and Space Force specialized in missions of air supply. Implanted on an ...

operating 14

s is also part of the FAS. These aircraft will be replaced by 12

Airbus A330 MRTT The Airbus A330 Multi Role Tanker Transport (MRTT) is a European aerial refuelling and military transport aircraft based on the civilian Airbus A330. A total of 16 countries have placed firm orders for approximately 68 aircraft, of which 51 h ...

« Phénix » between 2018 and 2025.

Nuclear Arms Depots

Between 1986 and 1989, the numerous AN-22 bombs equipping the

bombers were withdrawn and a new generation of airborne

missile In military terminology, a missile is a missile guidance, guided airborne ranged weapon capable of self-propelled flight usually by a jet engine or rocket motor. Missiles are thus also called guided missiles or guided rockets (when a previously ...

(ASMPA) arms were placed in service. These missiles are stocked in various designated special munitions depots (french: Dépôts Ateliers Munitions Spéciales DAMS), which are highly protected sites on different Aerial Bases. As of 2010, the Air-Sol Moyenne Portée (ASMPA) of new generation is destined for the Strategic Air Forces (FAS) of the

French Air Force The French Air and Space Force (AAE) (french: Armée de l'air et de l'espace, ) is the air and space force of the French Armed Forces. It was the first military aviation force in history, formed in 1909 as the , a service arm of the French Ar ...

and the French Naval Nuclear Force (french: Force Aéronavale Nucléaire, FANU) of the

French Navy The French Navy (french: Marine nationale, lit=National Navy), informally , is the maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the five military service branches of France. It is among the largest and most powerful naval forces in th ...

(

Marine Nationale The French Navy (french: Marine nationale, lit=National Navy), informally , is the maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the five military service branches of France. It is among the largest and most powerful naval forces in th ...

). The new equipment (french:

Tête Nucléaire Aéroportée The French ''Tête nucléaire aéroportée - Airborne nuclear warhead (TNA)'' is a Thermonuclear weapon, thermonuclear warhead carried by the Air-Sol Moyenne Portée (ASMP), Air-Sol Moyenne Portée Amélioré (ASMPA) medium-range air-to-surface mis ...

) (TNA) is of an estimated power mass of 300 kt. As of end of 2008 and until 2012, depots were reorganized at the occasion of the arrival of the ASMPA missile to be re-baptized under another ASMPA depot vector (french: « Dépôts vecteurs ASMPA » (DVA)). The special munitions depot (french: Dépôts Ateliers Munitions Spéciales DAMS) change frequently. The DVA is confined to the squadron during the placement in effect, while the TNA are handled differently, in a specialized zone that is very well protected.

Notes

Bibliography

* Serge Gadal, ''Forces Aériennes Stratégiques'', préface de

Nicolas Sarkozy Nicolas Paul Stéphane Sarközy de Nagy-Bocsa (; ; born 28 January 1955) is a French politician who served as President of France from 2007 to 2012. Born in Paris, he is of Hungarian, Greek Jewish, and French origin. Mayor of Neuilly-sur-Sei ...

President of France The president of France, officially the president of the French Republic (french: Président de la République française), is the executive head of state of France, and the commander-in-chief of the French Armed Forces. As the presidency is ...

, Economica, 2009 * Robert Galan, ''Forces Aériennes Stratégiques : missions au cœur du secret défense'', Privat, collection Aviation, 2014 ,Réalisé en collaboration avec l’Association Nationale des anciens des Forces Aériennes Stratégiques (ANFAS) * Hervé Beaumont, ''Les forces aériennes stratégiques 1964-2014'', Histoire et Collections, collection Aviation, 2014 * Frédéric Lert & Hervé Beaumont, ''Les Forces Aériennes Stratégiques : 50 ans d’alerte nucléaire'', Zéphyr Éditions, collection Prestige, 2015

History

Structure

Nuclear Arms Depots

Notes

Bibliography

Further reading