The Quest for Relevant Air Power

French Air Force │ 89
The reorganisation of the FAF’s command structure represented
a direct response to the shifting geostrategic context. Since a major
clash within Europe was no longer an immediate threat, large
command structures and forces preassigned for specific tasks had
become obsolete. Instead, continuous operations abroad and the
thrust towards combined and joint operations required a flexible
approach. The structure was fully in line with the 1994 White
Book, which largely decouples conventional forces from nuclear
strategy and puts a premium upon power projection and operations
in multinational frameworks. 45 Three years later, under Chirac’s
presidency, military planning law 1997–2002 confirmed the
reform of the command structure. 46
The military planning law for 1997–2002 was supposed to be
the first out of three to achieve the goals set by the Armed Forces
Model 2015. It initiated a streamlining process of the aircraft fleet,
as depicted in the following table:
Table 1. Armed Forces Model 2015 (FAF)
1996 2002 2015
405 combat aircraft
( Mirage F1, Mirage
2000, Jaguar, Mirage IV)
80 tactical transport
aircraft
360 combat aircraft
( Mirage F1, Jaguar,
Mirage IV, Mirage 2000)
80 tactical transport
aircraft
300 modern combat
aircraft
50 modern transport
aircraft (A400Ms)
11 AAR aircraft 14 AAR aircraft 16 AAR aircraft
6 specialised C-160
Transall
6 specialised C-160
Transall
2 specialised C-160
Transall
4 AWACS 4 AWACS 4 AWACS
1 DC 8 Sarigue (electronic
intelligence)
1 DC 8 Sarigue 1 DC 8 Sarigue
101 helicopters 86 helicopters 84 helicopters
Reprinted from Loi de Programmation Militaire (LPM) [French military programme bill of law]
1997–2002, Rapport fait au nom de la commission des Affaires étrangères, de la défense et des forces
armées (1) sur le projet de loi, adopté par l’Assemblée Nationale après déclaration d’urgence, relatif à
la programmation militaire pour les années 1997 à 2002 [Report on behalf of the commission of
foreign and defence affairs and the armed forces on the military programme bill of law 1997–2002,
approved by the national assembly after a declaration of urgency], no. 427 (Paris: Sénat, 1996), 132.
Yet, the delay of several procurement programmes due to financial,
technological, or industrial reasons prevented the FAF from