The Quest for Relevant Air Power

Chapter 3
French Air Force (Armée de l’Air)
During WWI the French aircraft and aircraft engine industries
were at the forefront in production and technical efficiency. By the
last year of the war, the French air service was the second largest
in the world; yet, only in 1933 did it become an independent service.
However, Army officers—who dominated the high command
of the armed forces—continued to provide strategic direction.
This led to an inappropriate air power doctrine and
contributed to France’s defeat in 1940. 1
After WWII and following two large-scale conflicts in Indochina
and Algeria, a watershed in France’s history was the collapse
of the Fourth Republic in May 1958 and the establishment of the
Fifth Republic under the leadership of Pres. Charles de Gaulle.
This ushered in fundamental changes in the French force posture. 2
To guarantee French status, developing autonomous nuclear deterrence
was considered indispensable. In parallel, de Gaulle pursued
a path of gradually disengaging from NATO’s integrated
military command structure. These events culminated in a letter
to the American president on 7 March 1966, where de Gaulle announced
that French forces would no longer remain subject to
NATO’s integrated military command structure. On a political
level, France continued to be a member of the alliance, and the
French armed forces constituted an operational reserve in NATO’s
central region. A certain level of operational cooperation was retained
between NATO and the French Air Force. In 1970 France
and NATO signed an MOU regarding the exchange of recognised
air picture data. 3
From 1959 onwards, budgetary and doctrinal priority had been
placed upon strategic nuclear forces, resulting in the first French
nuclear bomb test on 13 February 1960. In October 1964, the FAF
with its Mirage IV bombers became the first operational pillar of the
strategic forces. The FAF also acquired responsibility for groundlaunched
strategic ballistic missiles, which reached operational
status in 1971. The nuclear strike role was considered to give the
FAF a truly independent status. 4