Flight Daily News

The eight Dassault Alpha Jet Es of the world-renowned Patrouille Acrobatique de France are, perhaps surprisingly, the only French military aircraft on show at Dubai.

Surprisingly, because Dassault’s Rafale fighter-bomber remains a key player in a number of ongoing fighter competitions, being rated by many as being a front-runner to meet the Indian Air Force’s medium multi-role combat aircraft requirement, while the company’s Mirage 2000 has a strong presence in the region, meaning there is a large potential market for upgrades.

Formed in 1953 with four F-84s, the team, usually known simply as the Patrouille de France, claims to be one of the World’s oldest formation display teams. F-84s gave way to Dassault Mystère IVs, and later, in 1964, to Fouga Magisters. The team has flown the Alpha Jet since 1981. The aircraft are based at Salon-de-Provence, co-located with the French Air Force Academy.

Alpha Jet customers have included Egypt and Qatar, and when the Luftwaffe phased out their Alpha Jets in 1998, it was widely reported that 32 aircraft, including two

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