The Quest for Relevant Air Power

132 │ French Air Force
In the domain of alliance policy, France’s ambition has been to
establish an autonomous European defence that it could actively
shape and also take on a centre stage position. Since most European
countries have proved reluctant to forego the American security
umbrella, France had to seek the strengthening of the European
defence pillar from within the NATO alliance. This paradoxically
led to an increased engagement with NATO that culminated in
France’s 2009 return to NATO’s integrated military command
structure. In return, France received two of NATO’s top military
positions—the post of SACT and the command of Joint Command
Lisbon—while retaining a degree of national autonomy,
particularly in the domain of the country’s nuclear deterrent. This
reintegration into NATO did not mean, however, that France
would no longer attach considerable importance to the European
Union as a major actor in the domain of security.
Along with France’s increasing participation in NATO and its
lead role in the ESDP, the FAF has been shaped accordingly. As
such, it is now capable of providing the nucleus of a larger multinational
force. The FAF has played a significant role in the NRF air
component and other major European cooperative ventures such
as the EAG, the EATC, or the EU Air RRC. Through integration,
the FAF is able both to overcome its shortcomings, such as the
lack of a dedicated SEAD capability, and to gain leverage through
the provision of key capabilities, such as C2 systems and deployable
air bases that still represent critical bottlenecks in European
air power. In short, integration has allowed the FAF to enhance its
operational effectiveness and to raise its international silhouette.
Throughout the post–Cold War era, the FAF has stood up to the
challenge of real operations across a broad range of military engagements,
from humanitarian enterprises to high-intensity warfare.
Apart from Operations Northern Watch, Desert Fox, and Iraqi
Freedom, it has participated in all major Western air campaigns
and has simultaneously been able to conduct smaller, autonomous
operations in Africa. To remedy significant deficiencies in interoperability
as experienced in Desert Storm, the FAF has consistently
pursued a path towards operating in a combined mode and
is nowadays able to swiftly integrate itself into a coalition or to
take on a lead role in multinational operations. As regards the African
theatre, the French armed forces retained their expertise in