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The first French Air Force squadron to operate the Dassault RAFALE fighter attained initial operational capability (IOC) at Saint Dizier on 27 June 2006, during a ceremony attended by French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin, Defence Minister Michèle Alliot-Marie and other senior government officials.
This largely symbolic event took place the day after two of the squadron's deployed aircraft effectively stood up for their first operational air defence mission at Mont de Marsan air base, in southern France.
The unit based here, N^sup o^ 1/7 "Provence" squadron, previously operated JAGUAR fighter-bombers in the ground attack role. It has now taken delivery of ten RAFALEs and will receive another ten by the end of the year, when it will attain its full operational strength. A second RAFALE squadron, this time tasked with the nuclear strike role, will stand up in 2008 with another 20 aircraft.
In all, the French Air Force will receive 234 RAFALEs (84 RAFALE B two-seat and 150 RAFALE C single-seat versions), while the French Navy will operate 60 RAFALE M single-seaters. To date, 120 RAFALEs have been ordered for both services, and 34 have been delivered. The Air Force order covers a total of 82 aircraft (44 single-seaters and 38 two-seaters) with an additional 38 RAFALE Ms single-seaters for the Navy. Under current plans, production is to continue until 2023.
Five years after the French Navy received its first aircraft, RAFALE ushers the French Air Force into the era of network-centric warfare, thanks to its unique capabilities in terms of data fusion, tactical connectivity, passive target detection and weapons load. "You can talk about fourth-generation or fifth-generation aircraft all you want, but what really matters is that RAFALE is one full generation ahead of...