France deployed Rafales, A400Ms and A330 MRTT to Sweden to demonstrate its ability to quickly deploy assets far away and have them operate autonomously.
The French Air and Space Force (Armée de l’Air et de l’Espace) began its annual Pégase (Pegasus) deployment, this time to Sweden at Luleå, home of the Norrbotten Wing F 21. The deployment focuses on the ability to quickly deploy assets far away and have them operate autonomously, similarly to the U.S. Air Force’s ACE (Agile Combat Employment) concept.
The Pegase deployments, which began in 2018, were usually directed in the Indo-Pacific region. With Paris now playing a greater role in reinforcing NATO’s eastern flank before Russia, as the United States under President Donald Trump diminishes strategic and military support to Europe, the deployment will be limited to Europe, and especially the northern regions, as the mission is also being called Pégase Grand Nord 25.
A total of six twin-seat Rafale Bs, two A400M and an A330 MRTT (Multi-Role Tanker Transport) “Phénix” are presently at Luleå. While on the way to the Scandinavian country, the formation was also refueled by a RAF (Royal Air Force) Voyager KC2 (British designation for their A330 MRTT).
2/ Une première pour cette mission de projection stratégique.
Objectif de PÉGASE Grand Nord : démontrer notre capacité à nous déployer vite, loin et de façon autonome. Cette année, l’armée de l’Air et de l’Espace a pris la direction de l’Europe du Nord. pic.twitter.com/BbOHRxmBr9
— Armée de l’Air et de l’Espace (@Armee_de_lair) April 23, 2025
The French contingent departed from the FASF bases of Mont-de-Marsan, Istres, Saint-Dizier and Orléans in what the service described as “a new, unprecedented edition of our power projection operation.” On its LinkedIn page, the FASF said the Pégase Grand Nord demonstrates the ASF’s ability to “deploy quickly, far and autonomously.”
The NATO Air Command also said about the ACE focus of Pégase 25: “ACE missions are dynamic, providing flexibility and agility that enhance Allied readiness to deploy, sustain and project capabilities across NATO airspace.”
🇫🇷 Rafale arrive in Luleå 🇸🇪 to conduct Agile Combat Employment (ACE) missions during PEGASE 25
ACE missions are dynamic, providing flexibility and agility that enhance Allied readiness to deploy, sustain and project capabilities across #NATO airspace pic.twitter.com/Ef4lywzERl
— NATO Air Command (@NATO_AIRCOM) April 23, 2025
Journey to Sweden
In Sweden, the FASF fleet, led by General Patrice Hugret, was welcomed by the F 21 base commander Colonel Peter Greberg. The Rafale Bs and the Flygvapnet’s Gripens will conduct several operations over the week.
The Norrbotten Wing’s page mentioned: “This time as part of the annual recurring PEGASE concept […] the French Air Force shows its ability to operate worldwide while building relations with the host countries.”
I just got some exclusive picture of the 2 Rafale 🇫🇷 flying over the Baltic Sea yesterday!
I kind of miss this feeling…😮💨 https://t.co/XjPdnfmsq4 pic.twitter.com/F2dFT9xevl
— Servez Julien (@ZaFly24) April 23, 2025
The formation was visible on live flight tracking websites, with three A330 MRTTs (callsigns FAF4093, FAF4094 and FAF4092), a Rafale B (FAF7720) and another unidentified aircraft with the callsign FAF7721 visible as they flew eastwards over the North Sea and the Baltic Sea near Kaliningrad, along the Dutch, German and Polish waters, before turning north to head to Sweden. ADS-B tracking also showed a FASF E-3F AWACS (Airborne Early Warning and Control) accompanying the aircraft over the Baltic Sea.
The Pégase 25 mission has kicked off.
The French Air Force is deployed in northern Europe, a concrete commitment to European security alongside its allies.
Deter, protect, act together. https://t.co/N6mcpNcg13 pic.twitter.com/b3gu3BZDVV
— French Aid to Ukraine 🇨🇵 🤜🤛 🇺🇦 (@aidefranceukr) April 22, 2025
A video shared by the French Joint Staff showed a Voyager simultaneously refueling two Rafales from its underwing pods. In the caption, the military said the joint action was for the “benefit of European security.”
The FASF also released pictures of the personnel embarking on the service’s A330, and the A400M being loaded with maintenance equipment and other support cargo. The Rafales flew to Sweden with a mix of various loadouts including GBU-12 Paveway IIs, MICA EM and MICA IR AAMs (Air-to-Air Missiles), and external fuel tanks on the centerline and the wings’ inner hardpoints.
📍Grand Nord | #PEGASE25
🔁 Ravitaillement des Rafale 🇫🇷 par MRTT 🇬🇧 lors du déploiement vers la Suède.
➡️ Action conjointe 🇫🇷🤝🇬🇧 au profit de la sécurité européenne.#CJEF. pic.twitter.com/oOAdZsCrWS
— Armée française – Opérations militaires (@EtatMajorFR) April 23, 2025
A video released by the Swedes on Instagram shows cockpit footage of a Rafale as an A400M refuelled another Rafale, flanked by a Gripen and a third Rafale. Some of the Rafales were also refueled by a FASF’s A330 MRTT, seen in another cockpit footage from a Rafale released by the French Armed Forces on Instagram, with another A330 flying overhead. Whether this was a French A330 or a RAF Voyager, is not clear.
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Activities
On Apr. 24, the Norrbotten Wing also released an image of two of the Rafale Bs and three Gripens from the Flygvapnet’s 211th Fighter Aviation Division in an arrowhead formation flight, “somewhere at the height of the Arctic Circle.” In another set of images, the Wing showed an A400M simultaneously refueling a JAS39 Gripen C and a Rafale B from its underwing pods. All the five aircraft were flying without weapons, with only centerline and underwing fuel tanks.
View this post on Instagram
The aircraft are already at work, with joint missions being conducted by Rafales and Gripens. Among these are range missions with the employment of laser-guided bombs, supported by French and Swedish JTACs (Joint Terminal Attack Controllers) on the ground.
📍Grand Nord | 🇸🇪🤝🇫🇷
⁰📸 Exercice #PEGASE25 : Rafale & Gripen en action ⚡ avec des frappes simulées et guidées par des éléments 🇸🇪-🇫🇷.
⁰➡️ Unité et cohésion au service de la sécurité européenne. pic.twitter.com/3pcidRldkX
— Armée française – Opérations militaires (@EtatMajorFR) April 24, 2025
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France’s ‘nuclear’ assertion
Etienne Marcuz, an associate fellow of French think tank FRS, said on X that some of the Rafales deployed on Pégase 25 may have been drawn from the French Strategic Air Forces, the nuclear delivery wing of the FASF based at Saint-Dizier. Specifically, this is the 4e Escadre de Chasse (4th Fighter Wing).
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This is also consistent with President Emmanuel Macron announcing on Mar. 18, 2025, the reopening of the Luxeuil Air Base (Base Aérienne 116) to begin operating the newest Rafale F5 variant. The jet meets the nuclear deterrent role with the hypersonic ASN4G nuclear cruise missile, and the announcement has been seen as Paris’s effort to expand its nuclear deterrent amid Europe’s uncertain future.
