French Air Force in the context of "Dassault Rafale"

The SEPECAT Jaguar is a British-French supersonic jet attack aircraft originally used by the British Royal Air Force and the French Air Force in the close air support and nuclear strike role. As of 2025, the Jaguar remains in service with the Indian Air Force.

Originally conceived in the 1960s as a jet trainer with a light ground attack capability, the requirement for the aircraft changed to include supersonic performance, reconnaissance and tactical nuclear strike roles. The aircraft were manufactured by SEPECAT (Société Européenne de Production de l'avion Ecole de Combat et d'Appui Tactique), a joint venture between Breguet and the British Aircraft Corporation, one of the first major joint British-French military aircraft programmes. It was also later license produced by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited in India for use of the Indian Air Force. Various single and two–seater variants of the aircraft have been developed over the years, including a maritime strike version. A carrier-based variant was also planned for French Navy service, but this was cancelled in favour of the cheaper, fully French-built Dassault-Breguet Super Étendard.

A roundel is a circular disc used as a symbol. The term is used in heraldry, but also for a type of national insignia used on military aircraft, generally circular and usually comprising concentric rings of different colours. Roundels are used in many other contexts as well.

The Dassault Mirage IV is a supersonic strategic bomber and deep-reconnaissance aircraft developed and produced by the French aircraft manufacturer Dassault Aviation.

Development of the Mirage IV began in the mid-1950s in response to a need for a supersonic carrier aircraft for France's independent nuclear deterrent. Dassault competed with other aircraft manufacturers, such as Sud Aviation and Nord Aviation, to have its proposal built, which was viewed as being both cheaper and simpler to develop in part due to it drawing upon the earlier Dassault Mirage III fighter. While originally intended as a dedicated bomber, a reconnaissance variant would also be developed. The first prototype, Mirage IV 01, performed its maiden flight on 17 June 1959; it set a new world record for speed over a 1000-kilometre closed circuit of 1,822 km/h (1,132 mph) on 19 September 1960. The first production-standard aircraft was completed during December 1963 and the Mirage IV entered service with the French Air Force in October 1964.

Antoine Marie Jean-Baptiste Roger, vicomte de Saint-Exupéry (29 June 1900 – c. 31 July 1944), known simply as Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (UK: /ˌsæ̃tɪɡˈzuːpəri/, US: /-ɡzuːpeɪˈriː/, French: [ɑ̃twan də sɛ̃t‿ɛɡzypeʁi] ), was a French writer, poet, journalist and aviator.

Born in Lyon to an aristocratic family, Saint-Exupéry trained as a commercial pilot in the early 1920s, working airmail routes across Europe, Africa, and South America. Between 1926 and 1939, four of his literary works were published: the short story The Aviator, novels Southern Mail and Night Flight, and the memoir Wind, Sand and Stars. Saint-Exupéry joined the French Air Force for World War II and flew reconnaissance missions until France's armistice with Germany in 1940. After being demobilised by the Air Force, Saint-Exupéry lived in exile in the United States between 1941 and 1943 and helped persuade it to enter the war. During this time, his works Flight to Arras and The Little Prince were published.

Berlin, the capital of Germany, was subject to 363 air raids during the Second World War. It was bombed by the RAF Bomber Command between 1940 and 1945, the United States Army Air Forces' Eighth Air Force between 1943 and 1945, and the French Air Force in 1940 and between 1944 and 1945 as part of the Allied campaign of strategic bombing of Germany. It was also attacked by aircraft of the Red Air Force in 1941 and particularly in 1945, as Soviet forces closed on the city. British bombers dropped 45,517 tons of bombs, while American aircraft dropped 22,090.3 tons. As the bombings continued, more and more people fled the city. By May 1945, 1.7 million people (40% of the population) had fled.

The Allied Command Transformation (abbr. ACT; French: Commandement allié Transformation) is a military command of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), formed in 2003 after restructuring.

It was intended to lead military transformation of alliance forces and capabilities, using new concepts such as the NATO Response Force and new doctrines in order to improve the alliance's military effectiveness. When France rejoined the NATO Military Command Structure in mid-2009, a significant change took place where the Supreme Allied Commander Transformation (SACT) became a French officer. The first French officer to serve as SACT was French Air Force General Stephane Abrial (2009–2012).

SEPECAT (French: Société Européenne de Production de l'avion Ecole de Combat et d'Appui Tactique) was an Anglo-French aircraft manufacturer. Established in 1966, its aim was to handle the development and commercialization of the Jaguar, an attack and training aircraft. Organised as a Société Anonyme, the company was joint venture between British Aircraft Corporation and Breguet.

The Dassault Mirage 2000 is a French multirole, single-engine, delta wing, fourth-generation jet fighter manufactured by Dassault Aviation. It was designed in the late 1970s as a lightweight fighter to replace the Mirage III for the French Air Force (Armée de l'air). The Mirage 2000 evolved into a multirole aircraft with several variants developed, with sales to a number of nations. It was later developed into the Mirage 2000N and 2000D strike variants, the improved Mirage 2000-5, and several export variants. Over 600 aircraft were built and it has been in service with nine nations.