The French Air Force (French: Armée de l'Air (ALA), literally Air Army) is the air force of the French Armed Forces. Formed in 1909 as the Service Aéronautique, it is the world’s oldest military air service.
Many consider the Armée de l'Air to have been the first professional air force in the world. The French took active interest in developing the air force from 1909 and had the first WWI fighter pilots. During the interwar years, however, parti...
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The French Air Force (French: Armée de l'Air (ALA), literally Air Army) is the air force of the French Armed Forces. Formed in 1909 as the Service Aéronautique, it is the world’s oldest military air service.
Many consider the Armée de l'Air to have been the first professional air force in the world. The French took active interest in developing the air force from 1909 and had the first WWI fighter pilots. During the interwar years, however, particularly in the 1930s, the quality fell when compared with the Luftwaffe, which crushed the French during the Battle of France.
In the post–WWII era, the French made a successful effort to develop a home grown aircraft industry. Dassault Aviation led the way with delta-wing designs, which formed the basis for the Mirage series of jet fighters. The Mirage demonstrated its abilities in the Six-Day War and the Gulf War, becoming one of the most popular and well-sold aircraft in the history of military aviation along the way.
Currently, the French...
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