French military jets launch a 40-day global flight to project power and strengthen alliances
The mission will cover 40,000 kilometers with about 300 personnel and nine stopovers to test rapid deployment and alliance coordination.
- On Tuesday, French Air and Space Force Rafale jets departed Istres air base in southern France for the 40-day Pegase 26 mission, traveling 40,000 kilometers across three continents to project military might and demonstrate alliance value.
- Climate change makes the Arctic more accessible to adversaries like China and Russia, prompting General Julien Sab to note the need for presence in the High North alongside the Danes in Greenland.
- Alice Rufo, a deputy defense minister, emphasized that "we fly together, we land together, we work together," with the mission supported by around 300 personnel and Airbus A330 MRTT refueling planes across the Indo-Pacific.
- Six months after President Emmanuel Macron offered to share France's nuclear umbrella with European partners, the exercise addresses mounting concern regarding President Donald Trump's reliability on security matters.
- Flying through the Middle East and Persian Gulf via Qatar, the mission concludes in Egypt, demonstrating France's commitment to international law and freedom of navigation in contested regions.
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19 Articles
French military jets launch 40-day global flight to project power, strengthen alliances
The aircraft left Istres air base in southern France on Tuesday and will travel 40,000 kilometers, cross three continents and make nine stopovers, working with international partners along the route to demonstrate the value of alliances at a time when big powers such as China and the United States seem determined to go it alone.
French military jets launch a 40-day global flight to project power an
French Air and Space Force Rafale fighter jets fly over the snow-covered mountains of Alaska, during the Pegase 2026, a French Air and Space Force mission that will take French military aircraft from the Arctic to the Indo-Pacific, Thursday, Sept. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Nicolas Garriga)
Associated Press News
French military jets launch a 40-day global flight to project power and strengthen alliances
Four French fighter jets have embarked on a 40-day flight to showcase the country's military might and international cooperation.
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