France practices dispersing Rafale fighters to civilian airports

The French Air and Space Force used two civilian airports as operating locations for combat and transport aircraft during its BASEX exercise, the service said.

Three Rafales flew from Pau Pyrénées Airport and two CASA CN235 transports operated from Dinard Airport, according to a service statement. The exercise ran across France from September 23 to October 2, 2026, and the service described the deployments in an October 13 statement.

Both moves fell under FRA-ACE, France's version of NATO's Agile Combat Employment concept. The idea is to generate air power from scattered sites with as little logistical support as possible. The service said this was the second year in a row it had deployed aircraft to civilian airports in France.

Agile Combat Employment responds to a known weakness in modern air forces: concentrating combat aircraft at a small number of permanent bases makes them attractive targets for long-range strikes. Spreading aircraft across military and civilian airfields complicates enemy targeting and keeps sorties possible if main bases are attacked. The concept depends on small mobile support teams, lighter logistics, and the use of infrastructure already in place.

In the last week of September, the three Rafales came from the 30th Fighter Wing at Air Base 118 Mont-de-Marsan, together with roughly 25 personnel. The group included pilots, mechanics and a protection detachment. The service said it kept the contingent deliberately small to test FRA-ACE under constrained conditions.

Crews flew training sorties from Pau. A deployable mobile support structure, known in French by the acronym SAMD, provided support at the site.

At Dinard, the exercise included a joint rescue drill involving civilian emergency responders and French Air and Space Force personnel beside a CN235.