French military jets launch a 40-day global flight to project power and strengthen alliances
The 40-day exercise will cover 40,000 kilometers and include nine stopovers as France tests long-range deployment with allies, officials said.
- 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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French Rafale jets take flight for 40,000-kilometre mission over three-continents
Four French Rafale fighter jets have embarked on a 40-day mission spanning three continents, highlighting France’s ability to deploy its air power around the world while strengthening cooperation with key international partners.
To project power and strengthen alliances, for 40 days they will pass through the frozen Arctic and suffocating tropics before ending up in a desert
French military launches 40-day global flight | Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
EIELSON AIR FORCE BASE, Alaska -- Four fighter jets rose into the air over a French military base and settled into formation at the start of a 40-day flight taking them through the icy Arctic and steamy tropics before ending in a desert.
LancasterOnline
BASE EIELSON OF THE AERIAN FORCE, Alaska, USA (AP) — Four fighter planes were raised on a French military base and placed in formation at the start of a 40-day flight that will take them by the icy...
CNBC-TV18
Times of IndiaFrench 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)
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