Strategic Air Forces Command
| Commandement des forces aérienne stratégiques Strategic Air Forces Command |
|
|---|---|
| Active | 14 January 1964 - present |
| Branch | French Air Force |
| Type | Major Command |
| Role | Strategic deterrence and nuclear warfighting |
| Garrison/HQ | Vélizy – Villacoublay Air Base |
| Colors | red |
| Commanders | |
| Current commander |
Général de corps aérien Patrick Charaix |
The Strategic Air Forces Command (Commandement des forces aérienne stratégiques) (CoFAS) is a command of the French Air Force. It was created on 14 January 1964 and is responsible for the use of nuclear weapons.
The headquarters was formerly at Taverny Air Base, but has now moved to Vélizy – Villacoublay Air Base.
Général de corps aérien Patrick Charaix is the current commander. This is the equivalent of a lieutenant-general's position. He took command in 2012, after a year as the deputy commander. He took over from General Paul Fouilland, in command from 2007-2012.
The first nuclear alert by a Dassault Mirage IV, supported by a Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker tanker took place on 8 October 1964, armed with AN-11 nuclear bombs. This date marks the beginning of the operational duty of the French Force de Frappe (Strike Force). It was planned between 1958 and 1961 that the aircraft carrier Verdun be built to deploy bombers at sea.
Initially, the Force de Frappe consisted of only of the 92 Bombardment Wing (Escadre), established in 1955 and operating 40 Sud Aviation Vautour IIB bombers. These were considered marginal for a strategic bomber role and work began almost immediately on a replacement. In May 1956 a requirement for what became the Dassault Mirage IV bomber was drawn up; this bomber was designed to carry nuclear gravity bombs over targets in the Eastern bloc at supersonic speeds and was declared operational in October 1964. It has been modernized since then. The Mirage IV-P version armed with the ASMP-A missile entered service in 1986. All bomber versions of the Mirage IV retired in 1996 and replaced by Mirage 2000N (entering service from 1988).
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