into European airspace, how to opti-
mize our deployments—for example,
by using one nation’s control unit to
control another’s platform, or allowing
it to land on another nation’s airstrip.
We also discussed training because
the U.S. makes heavy use of available
training slots and we are short of them,
so we’re trying to find solutions.Will France be replacing C-160
Gabriel electronic intelligence and
surveillance aircraft?We’ve just modernized our C-160s and
plan on using them at least until 2023.
Beyond that we have several ideas.
We may put some of the sensors on
unmanned systems, but we’re also
looking at using our Airbus A400Ms.
The idea is that instead of having two
aircraft dedicated to gathering electro-
magnetic signals, we could have sev-
eral A400Ms pre-cabled so we could
plug and play sensors. This would give
us great flexibility and ensure we al-
ways have at least one aircraft ready
to fly this mission.What plans does the air force have
for the Alpha Jet light attack and
trainer aircraft?All will be replaced except those at
Cazaux Air Base, which are modern-
ized. We want a more modern, less
expensive aircraft that has the in-
flight simulation of the Rafale. This is
because our new training program,
called Fomedec [a French acronym
for modernized training and differ-
ential coaching for combat teams],
requires us to have a trainer that
simulates the Rafale.
Today, I need 290 pilots who can fly
the full spectrum of Rafale missions in
a few hours [when the French air force
is] first in theater. They must be highly
trained: 180 flight hours and 70 more
on a simulator per year. We don’t have
the budget for that, so we’ll train 240 to
this level and another 50 will also be in-
structors on the new trainer jet. They
will train 40 hr. instead of 180 on the
Rafale, and the remaining 140 hr. on
the new trainer. This will allow them
to fly the Rafale on simpler missions
and give us staying power in theaters.
There are [training] aircraft that could
meet our requirements but the tender
has not been released. If they enter
service in 2017, as we require, the con-
tract will have to be signed this year. cGen. Denis Mercier
Chief of Staf, French Air Force
Age: 55
Birthplace: Barcelonnette, France
Education: 1979 graduate of the
French Air Force Academy, Salon-de-
Provence
Background: Qualified as a fighter
pilot in 1983; clocked more than
3,000 flight hours, mostly on Mirage
F1C and Mirage 2000C jets; has
flown 182 combat missions. After
attending war college in 1996,
Mercier spent six years in NATO
posts in Paris and the Netherlands
before commanding an air base in
2002 and holding positions at air
force headquarters in Paris. He was
commander of the Air Force Academy
and director of the military cabinet
at the defense ministry before being
appointed chief of staf on Sept. 17,- Mercier is married and has
three children.
FIRST PERSONAir France
French air force Chief Gen. Denis Mercier is leading the service through sweeping
changes including many that will afect the aircraft it deploys, both manned and un-
manned. Mercier spoke with DTI Senior European Editor Christina Mackenzie about
some of the air systems the Armee de l’Air plans to deploy, beginning with the Franco-
British Future Combat Air System (FCAS).
Defense Technology International:
What shape will FCAS take?
Mercier: This is a combat drone dem-
onstrator project... not... a proto-
type. We’re imagining an FCAS that
associates platforms with sensors,
platforms with weapons, and with un-
manned and manned systems. But we
can’t imagine this system without fur-
ther development of the Rafale fighter
or without developing command and
control capacities. What types of
communications [will be needed for
FCAS]? What [degree of ] interopera-
bility with NATO? What level of sover-
eignty? These are all topics of interest.
How do you see the Rafale fighter
evolving?
Depending on what we do with FCAS
we have several options. For example,
if a combat drone is stealthy, such as the
European Neuron unmanned combat
air vehicle, do we really need to work
on stealth for the Rafale, considering it
would likely fly in partnership with the
future drone? Would it not be better to
concentrate on the Rafale’s strengths,
such as its active, electronically
scanned array (AESA) radar, and look
at whether we could put AESA on the
Rafale, for example, for electronic war-
fare, as radar, or for highly encrypted
communications? For me, the key lies
in high-speed data links [and their abil-
ity to transmit such information to the
pilot and command centers]. That is
the real technological and operational
revolution.
Early this year there was a meet-
ing of General Atomics MQ-9
Reaper unmanned aerial vehicle
users. What emerged from that?
The UAV has been very useful. The
Reaper club has only four members:
the U.S., U.K., Italy and France. Our
objective was to exchange views on
the problems encountered with the
platform and its operational use. We
discussed how to integrate the Reaper
AviationWeek.com/dti AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY DEFENSE TECHNOLOGY INTERNATIONAL MARCH 30 -APRIL 12, 2015 DTI19
ARMEE DE L’AIR