France will reactivate the 5th Fighter Wing Squadron with the Dassault’s Rafale fighter jets on the 18th of July. Janes reports that the squadron previously used Mirage 2000C multirole fighters. The new squadron is within the scope of France’s plans to expand its fleet of Rafale fighters that have succeeded the Mirage 2000 series.
As stated by President Emmanuel Macron, an undisclosed amount of Mirage 2000 jets under retirement will be delivered to Ukraine. French Air Force has stated that the new squadron will add 20 Rafale fighters. In January 2024, a new order of 42 units was announced, and the aircraft was to be delivered in F4 configuration. The Rafale F4 incorporates updates to its radar, the Talios pod, the Thales Scorpion helmet, the possibility of using Safran’s AASM (Armement Air-Sol Modulaire) guided bombs or MBDA’s MICA NG (Next Generation) air-to-air missiles amongst other improvements.
With new orders for Rafale, France continues the work on FCAS/SCAF’s next-generation fighter programme alongside the partner countries Germany and Spain. France expects the fighter to come out of the programme to serve the Air Force and Navy (In a separate configuration) with nuclear delivery capability included.
