Military: French Air Force Adds Home-Grown Fighter to Its Arsenal
Posted at 6-28-2006 at 04:38 PM
The French air force took delivery of its first
batch of the Frence-made Rafale fighter planes on June 27, with the manufacturer of the long-delayed jet, Dassault Aviation, still looking for the
first foreign order for the aircraft.
French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin attended a ceremony at an army base in Saint Dizier, northeast France, where 20 models of the Rafale were
delivered.
The Rafale, which is the successor to the Mirage jet, entered service in the French navy in 2004 and 10 models are based on the nuclear-powered
aircraft carrier, The Charles de Gaulle.
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