Here’s a self-portrait photo taken by a pilot of the French Air Force’s Escadron de Chasse 1/7 Provence, based at Saint-Dizier.
The fighter jocks depicted in the “selfie” is flying a Rafale C “omnirole” plane at very high altitude, with condensation trail clearly visible behind the jet.
Rafales of the Armée de l’Air have been involved in Libya and Mali air wars.
A further iterative development of the warplane has been recently announced: the new F3R standard will include the integration of MBDA’s Meteor BVR (beyond visual range) air-to-air missile, the latest version of the Sagem AASM Hammer air-to-surface guided munition and the newer version of the Thales’s PDL-NG laser designation pod.
David Cenciotti is a journalist based in Rome, Italy. He is the Founder and Editor of “The Aviationist”, one of the world’s most famous and read military aviation blogs. Since 1996, he has written for major worldwide magazines, including Air Forces Monthly, Combat Aircraft, and many others, covering aviation, defense, war, industry, intelligence, crime and cyberwar. He has reported from the U.S., Europe, Australia and Syria, and flown several combat planes with different air forces. He is a former 2nd Lt. of the Italian Air Force, a private pilot and a graduate in Computer Engineering. He has written five books and contributed to many more ones.
The first two Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets, initially stationed at Morris Air National Guard Base, Tucson, to support pilot training, have now been transferred to Slovakia. The arrival of the first two F-16 […]
Greece formally accepted an offer for 20 F-35A Lightning II jets with an option for an additional 20 aircraft. On July 25, 2024, the Greek government formalized its decision to procure 20 Lockheed Martin F-35 […]
The Italian Air Force has emphasized since last year that it requires more F-35A and F-35B jets. Public data indicates that it may eventually acquire 20 additional Lightning II aircraft. Last year, the Italian Air […]