PARIS — The French Air Force is sending to the U.S. its crack flying display team, Patrouille de France, to mark the 100th anniversary of the American entry into World War I, French Ministry of Defence spokeswoman Valérie Lecasble said Thursday.
“This year, there is something special, as this patrol flies to the U.S. more than 30 years after its previous North America tour,” she told journalists. French pilots from March 17 to May 6 will fly 10 Alphajets, supported by maintenance crews and an A400M Atlas airlifter carrying 25 tons of equipment.
The Alphajets will also join on April 21 the Trilateral Strategic Initiative at Langley Air Force Base, Virginia, where French Rafales fly with British Royal Air Force Eurofighter Typhoons and U.S. Air Force F-22s. That exercise aims to train pilots of the three air forces so they fly combat missions together.
French participation in the U.S. commemoration seeks to pay homage to the U.S. entry to the war and display the two countries and their air forces as brothers in arms, said French Air Force Col. Christophe Deherre, director of Air-US Tour 2017.
The event also serves as a display of capabilities for global deployment and a showcase for companies including Airbus, Air France, Daher and Frescal, which are supporting the tour, he said. The former will provide support for the A400M, which will carry three spare jet engines and 1 ton of equipment for the plane itself.
The U.S. invited France to take part in key public events, namely Kansas City, Missouri’s marking on April 6 of the American declaration of war on that date in 1917, and the following weekend at Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama, commemorating the 100th anniversary of WWI.
The French participation is intended “to show to what extent our air forces are committed together, interoperable, and have a capability to master the most advanced technology together and to communicate together,” said French Air Force Lt Col. Gauthier Dewas, who will lead the flight team.
A first step will be taking part in a New York parade, he said, where the Statue of Liberty, which was a gift from France, is located. Other events include flying March 25-27 over Washington, D.C., the Pentagon, and beside the White House. Wounded French personnel will attend the shows and take part in sports events with their U.S. counterparts.
During the tour, the French patrol will fly with the U.S. Navy Blue Angels at Pensacola, Florida, fly with the U.S. Army Air Force Thunderbirds at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, and visit the U.S. Air Force Academy at Colorado Springs, Colorado. The latter is a well-known site for French pilots who have trained there. The patrol will also fly over the Grand Canyon and Golden Gate bridge.
A flight is planned to Norfolk, Virginia, to take part in the Norfolk NATO Festival, as Gen. Mercier, NATO supreme allied commander transformation, had invited the patrol. Mercier is a former French air chief of staff.
Discussions are being held for a flight to the Airbus factory in Mobile, Alabama.
The French team will fly at two meetings in Ottawa and Montreal in Canada before heading back across the Atlantic. The flight time is two days, with four stopovers at Greenland, Iceland and Scotland to refuel and refill oxygen.
The U.S. and French air forces have close ties that date back to the American pilots in the Lafayette squadron, flying in the battles of Verdun and Somme in WWI, Air Force Chief of Staff André Lanata noted in a booklet about the U.S. tour. The two services now fly together in Middle East conflicts, with U.S. Air Force supporting French missions in the vast sub-Saharan theater, and American and French pilots flying in NATO operations at a time when there is a renewed air threat.
