Emmanuel Macron wants to make the 116 air base in Luxeuil-Lles-Bains, in Haute-Saône, the place of reception for future rafale models, nuclear deterrence centers.
Two new Rafale squadrons (approximately 40 airplanes) will join the Luxeuil-Les-Bains base that will benefit from an investment of modernization of 1.5 billion euros from the state.
It is “2,000 soldiers and civilians (who will join it) by 2035,” said the head of state who is also the head of the armies.
A future explosion with hypersonic nuclear missiles
Luxeuil will also be “on the horizon of 2035 the first base to welcome the next version of the Rafale and its hypersonic nuclear missile, a figure of the renewal began from the modernization of our nuclear deterrence,” added the head of state.
These investments were planned and are not linked to the international context, specifies the ELYSEE with BFMTV.
Currently, three other air bases participate in nuclear deterrence: Saint-Dizier (Haute-Marne), Istres (Bouche-Du-Rhône) and Avord (Cher).
“Police of the sky”
The BA 116 contributes to the “permanent security position”, that is, the “police of the sky” daily in the French airspace, but also to the national, multilateral or NATO missions, especially above the Baltic states, had previously detailed the Elysée with AFP.
She “plays a key role in aerial safety, both in the national territory and in the allies airspace, particularly on the eastern flank of the Alliance,” said the presidency.
This base created in 1912 welcomed the La Fayette squad in 1916 formed by American volunteers who had committed together with France even before Washington’s entrance to World War I. From 1966 to 2011, Base 116 also participated in the implementation of nuclear deterrence in the French air.
Source: BFM TV
