Aeronautique navale
The Navy cannot claim a mastery of maritime spaces without cover in a closely coordinated manner the three dimensions: on the sea, under the sea and above the sea. In this logic of verticality, the airspace above the sea is considered to be an integral part of the maritime domain.
Naval Aviation is the air component of the French Navy. The adaptation of its hardware to the marine environment as well as the expertise of the Sea developed by its staff make Naval Aviation operational inseparable of surface or the Navy's buildings. In this respect more than half of naval aviation aircraft embarked on board vessels. The Navy aircraft (fighter, reconnaissance aircraft, patrol and maritime surveillance and combat helicopters, rescue, public service) to ensure the mastery of the airspace above the sea and beyond the horizon.
Naval Aviation provides a very rich missions range, the implementation of nuclear deterrence in maritime surveillance through the air superiority, the recognition, support and attack precision, day and night, in all its forms thanks to the projection of forces from the aircraft carrier, aerial detection, the anti-surface, anti-submarine warfare, rescue at sea of persons and goods, the fight against drug trafficking, piracy and illegal immigration, as well as the presence in sensitive marine areas, etc.
Naval Aviation has over 200 aircraft and more than 6,700 people, civilian and military. The training squadrons, flotillas and centres of training and instruction are supported by six foundations of Naval Aviation (BAN), five in metropolitan France and one overseas. Created from the merger between the forces of onboard aviation and maritime patrol aviation, naval aviation was created on June 19, 1998. Located in Toulon, Naval Aviation headquarters commanded by an Admiral (Alavia) brings together over 100 people.
The French navy, faced with the prospect of retiring its fleet of F-8E (FN) Crusader aircraft in 1993 without an available replacement from the French inventory (the naval version of the Rafale is intended to reach the fleet in 1998), lobbied aggressively for the procurement of 15 second hand McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 aircraft from the US Navy, arguing that this approach was the only acceptable way of meeting its requirements of air cover for its two aircraft carriers. As stated by the French Navy's deputy chief of naval operations, Vice Admiral Yves Goupil, "We only need the F/A-18 for five years, and we'd then replace it with the Rafale."
The decision, however, was made to refurbish the aging Crusaders (with safety as the main refurbishment objective) rather than to purchase the American F/A-18s. With an eye toward the export market, a senior defense ministry official stated, "If the French Navy had bought the F/A-18, it would have given [McDonnell Douglas] a very significant marketing edge over Dassault [builder of the Rafalel in future foreign sales." Citing the success of the Rafale program as a national challenge, French defense minister Jean-Pierre Chevenement called the maintenance of a competitive French aeronautical indutry "part of the defense of France."
March 10, 2000, 4F, mothballed at the withdrawal of the Alizé was reactivated at Lann Bihoué. With its three Northrop Grumman E-2C ( Hawkeye) ordered to the latest standard of aircraft in service with the U.S. Navy, she to missions, from an aircraft carrier, to ensure the safety of a naval force against air threats to surface thanks to its detection capabilities, remote identification, control and interception aircraft guidance. The Hawkeye can also support the aerial missions interception and assault against naval and land targets, to develop the tactical situation. Finally, they serve as a relay of information and data within the CSG, and participate in special operations to guide the vision and combat SAR (Search And Rescue). The first Hawkeye arrived at Lann-Bihoué on 15 December 1998, the second in March 1999 and the third in February 2004.
In 2004, the flotilla 12 F had 10 Rafale M F1-standard. As of 2006, the delivery of six aircraft per year to the F2 standard (air-to-air and Air-to-ground capabilities aircraft) then standard F3 (addition of Air/Sea and nuclear capabilities) will allow the creation of two other units that will lead, in 2008, on the dissolution of one of the two super étendards fleets, the second to disappear in 2010. Naval aviation will therefore have three armed fleets of Rafale M (single-seater) or (two-seater) Rafale N , which will train from Landivisiau naval air base and will operate from the Charles de Gaulle .
Between 2005 and 2018, 27 NFH ( NH 90 type marine helicopters) will be delivered to the Navy. Available in two versions, "support" and "combat", the NH90 will replace, in the first case, the Frelon for the missions of public service and support at sea, naval forces, and in the second case, the Lynx currently embarked on escort ships.
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