U.S. Air Force B-52 Stratofortress strategic bombers deployed to Moron Air Base have joined French Air Force fighters in CAS exercise

Taken on Mar. 1, 2016 the photo in this post shows a French Air Force Mirage 2000 performing a friendly intercept of a U.S. Air Force B-52 Stratofortress belonging to the 20th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron from Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana in the skies over Northern France.

This aircraft, which is one of the three BUFFs deployed to Moron Air Base, Spain, in the last days, was intercepted during its flight to Norway for NATO exercise Cold Response 16.

Currently these B-52s are participating in close air support (CAS) exercise Serpentex 16 hosted by France in the Mediterranean Sea.

Kicked off on Mar. 7, Serpentex is an annual exercise that involves joint terminal attack controllers (JTACs) from many partner countries.

The JTACs operate on the French Island of Corsica and work together to practice identifying targets and using that data to call in air strikes from nearby French and American aircraft.

Serpentex differs from other joint military exercises held in the region because it focuses on close air support only: in fact, during the drilsl, the B-52s joined with French fighters to support JTACs from several NATO nations, as well as those from Jordan and Saudi Arabia, who are also participating this year.

The presence of the B-52, which is taking part in exercise Serpentex for the very first time, represents a great training opportunity for the JTACs. “Most of them haven’t worked with bombers for these types of missions before. We have a longer duration and a lot wider turn radius than some of the fighters, so they’re going to have to find a new pacing for calling us in for close air support. But I promise that bomber CAS is worth the wait” Maj. Sarah Fortin, the 20th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron assistant director of operations, said in a USAF release.

Noteworthy, whilst CAS role has traditionally been filled by various fighter platforms, the BUFF is well-suited for the mission since is able to loiter for extended periods and carrying a wider range of munitions than any other aircraft in the U.S. inventory.

Image credit: U.S. Air Force

Related articles

• U.S. Air Force pilot reaches 9,000 flying hours on the B-52 Stratofortress bomber
• Dutch F-16s intercepted U.S. B-52 bombers over Europe. And took some awesome photographs
• Join a B-52 on a Linebacker II mission with this story about the Christmas bombing campaign over Hanoi
• U.S. ready to deploy B-52 bombers to South Korea amid escalating crisis in the peninsula
• Operation Allied Force: B-52 Stratofortress bombers involvement in the Air Campaign over Kosovo
• [Video] De-icing a U.S. Air Force B-52 strategic bomber at Minot Air Force Base
• Stunning pics of a B-52 strategic bomber doing some heavy carpet bombing in Jordan

France strikes back with Rafale and Mirage 2000 jets.

According to the French MoD (Ministry of Defense), a dozen French aircraft conducted air strikes against ISIS targets located in Raqqa, Syria on Nov. 15.

The aircraft, Mirage 2000N and Mirage 2000Ds and Rafales, were launched at 19.50 and 20.25 CET, struck an Islamic State command center and a training camp: about 20 targets even though there are reports of more buildings hit by the French bombs.

The raids come about 48 hours seven coordinated terrorist attacks in Paris killed 132 people and injuring 352.

Raqqa is an ISIS stronghold. It was reported earlier on Sunday Nov. 15 that the U.S. intelligence has intercepted communications between Raqqa and the terrorists in Paris ahead of the deadly attack on Friday Nov. 13.

The aircraft that took part in the “massive” airstrike in Raqqa are part of Operation Chammal, the French air campaign in Iraq and Syria launched on Sept. 19, 2014 and consisting of 12 tactical jets (six Rafale, three Mirage 2000D and three Mirage 2000N aircraft) and one Atlantique 2 MPA (Maritime Patrol Aircraft). On Sept. 27, five Rafale jets, an Atlantique 2 and a C-135 tanker aircraft “launched by airbases located in Jordan and the Persian Gulf,” were involved in the first French mission against an ISIS training camp in Syria as part of Operation Chammal.

Related articles

• France to deploy Aircraft Carrier in Persian Gulf to join ISIS war
• Video shows Iranian Aircraft buzz U.S. Navy Destroyer, warn it to leave exercise area in Strait of Hormuz
• French Air Force celebrates 50th Anniversary of Strategic Air Forces with three stunning special colors
• [Video] Dramatic air-to-air footage of RAF Typhoon an French Mirage 2000 flying in formation over UK
• French Air Force’s Nuclear Deterrence Drills with the Mirage 2000N
• Awesome video of KC-10 refueling another KC-10 against a full moon….through IR vision
• Video shows French Mirage, Rafale combat planes at work in Mali Air War

British and French fighter jets shadow a Russian Tu-95 bomber, and surprisingly the footage is recorded by the crew members of the Tu-95.

Here is an interesting video filmed from inside a Tu-95 Bear escorted by Royal Air Force Typhoons and French Air Force Mirage 2000s during one of the recent missions of the Russian Air Force strategic bombers in northern Europe.

Even though RAF jets were scrambled on Feb. 18 to intercept two Tu-95MS bombers off the Cornwall coast, the footage was probably filmed on Jan. 29, when two Bears, accompanied by Mig-31 Foxhound long-range interceptors, were refueled twice by Il-78 Midas aerial refuelers and were intercepted and escorted by RAF Typhoons, Norwegian F-16s and French Mirage 2000s at various stages of their trip.

Indeed, the video briefly shows also an armed French Mirage shadowing the Russian Bear.

H/T to Ka Kiu Chan for the heads up

Related articles

• [Video] Russian strategic bomber films British and French jets escorting it
• Listen to Russian Strategic Bombers talk to their Ground Control while skirting UK airspace
• New Photos of Russian Planes intercepted by Norwegian Fighter Jets
• NATO worried by an “unusual level of Russian air activity over European airspace”: 19 warplanes intercepted today
• Russian “Bear” strategic bombers intercepted by Typhoon jet from base in Scotland for the first time
• Italian Typhoon jets have intercepted a Russian Air Force Il-78 tanker over the Baltic Sea
• Even the Portuguese Air Force has intercepted and photographed Russian bombers wandering across Europe

Armée de l’air celebrated the 50th anniversary of the FAS (forces aériennes stratégiques) with three special colored planes.

On Oct. 3, with a ceremony held at Istres airbase, the French Air Force celebrated 50 years of French deterrence by the Forces Aériennes Strategiques which are responsible for Paris’s nuclear weapons.

The first nuclear alert took place on Oct. 8, 1964 with a Dassault Mirage IV, armed with AN-11 nuclear bombs, supported by a Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker of the so-called Force de Frappe (French for Strike Force).

French assets of the FAS have been on continouos alert since then, an achievement marked with three special colors: a Rafale, a Mirage 2000N and a C-135FR.

Two are the nuclear squadrons of the French Air Force, each consisting of 20 aircraft: EC (Escadron de chasse) 1/91 Gascogne at Saint-Dizier equipped with the Rafale B, and EC 2/4 Lafayette at Istres equipped with the Mirage 2000N.

Image credit: French Air Force

Related articles

• [Photo] French Rafale damages Refueling Probe while taking fuel from U.S. KC-135 tanker over Mali
• Another Stunning Selfie: French Rafale fighter pilot
• French Rafale jets deploy to Poland (without the markings of the unit which fought alongside Soviets in WWII)
• [Photo] French Rafale jets conduct first reconnaissance mission over Iraq
• This is not a videogame but Rafale combat plane’s cockpit at dusk
• This is what refueling midair from a tanker inside thick clouds looks like
• [Photo] Rafale jets refuel over Baghdad during first French night air strikes in Iraq

A French Mirage 2000 pilot in a cool selfie as a U.S. F-22 stealth fighter formates on his wing during a joint exercise.

The image (a frame of GoPro video) was probably taken during the deployment at Al Dhafra airbase, in the UAE, of U.S. Air Force F-22 Raptors.

According to the French pilots, aerial combat with the Raptor is extremely important, regardless of the outcome of the dogfight: training with the F-22 gives French Mirage 2000 the possibility to learn to fight against a superior fighter: “Sometimes a battle begins even before meeting the adversary, when it is necessary to convince themselves that the opponent is not so terrible, and despite the gap of performance, the technological chasm, one is able to get the game.”

Image credit: Groupe de Chasse 1/2 Cigognes

Related articles

• [Photo] Alaska’s F-22 Raptor stealth fighters on their way to the Middle East
• Here’s another stunning selfie taken from the backseat of an F-16
• Another Stunning Selfie: French Rafale fighter pilot
• Must see: the entire video of the “ultimate selfie” of an F-16 pilot firing a missile
• Inverted over the enemy: Mirage 2000 intercepts F-16 upside down
• This stunning fighter pilot selfie could be one of the last taken on a Brazilian Mirage 2000
• Rare video shows F-22 Raptor shot down by the French Rafale in mock air-to-air combat