French Air Force

BA117 Paris, HQ of the French Air Force

The French Air Force (French: Armée de l'Air (ALA), literally Air Army) is the air force of the French Armed Forces. Formed in 1909 as the Service Aéronautique, it is the world’s oldest military air service.The organisation of the ALA is based on having complete control of air operations and on flexibility in execution, both in peacetime and at war. As most modern defence organisations at the moment (2007) the ALA is busy reorganising itself (see Future).
After an absence lasting several decades the French president, Mr Sarkozy, confirmed that France will rejoin NATO integrated command again.Many consider the Armée de l'Air to have been the first professional air force in the world. The French took active interest in developing the air force from 1909 and had the first WWI fighter pilots. During the interwar years, however, particularly in the 1930s, the quality fell when compared with the Luftwaffe, which crushed the French during the Battle of France.
In the post–WWII era, the French made a concerted and successful effort to develop a home grown aircraft industry. Dassault Aviation led the way with unique and effective delta-wing designs, which formed the basis for the Mirage series of jet fighters. The Mirage repeatedly demonstrated its deadly abilities in the Six-Day War and the Gulf War, becoming one of the most popular and well-sold aircraft in the history of military aviation along the way. Currently, the French Air Force is expanding and replacing. The French are awaiting the A400M military transport aircraft, which is still in developmental stages, and the integration of the new Rafale multi-role jet fighter, whose first squadron of 20 aircraft became operational in 2006 at Saint-Dizier.