France Gives Air Base $1.7 Billion Nuclear Facelift
In a sign of the growing security nerves in Europe, France has embarked on a $1.7 billion renovation of an air base in remote hills in the east of the country so it can handle nuclear-armed bombers.
The work will take a decade but from 2035 the Luxeuil-Saint Sauveur base will be twice the size it is now and it will house new generation hypersonic missiles carried by 50 of France's Rafale fighter jets.
President Emmanuel Macron announced at the base in March, on the day that U.S. President Donald Trump and Russia's President Vladimir Putin discussed the Ukraine war, that it was to become the first to welcome the latest Rafale jets and France's ASN4G nuclear-capable air-to-ground missiles.
Luxeuil will become the fourth, but most modern, base in France capable of storing nuclear weapons.
The base currently has about 20 Mirage-2000 jets, which are no longer in production.
Its triangle shaped hangars date from 1952, according to base commander, Colonel Emmanuel Roux. They have been "well used," according to Roux who said he had seen pictures of President Charles de Gaulle there in 1962. "It was the same," he joked.
The hangars will go as the Rafales will not fit in them. "We will have to redo everything for the infrastructure," the colonel said.
The Rafale is also heavier than the Mirage so Luxeuil's runway will also have to be made longer and tougher.
"We have 10 years to build the best base in France with planes that do not exist [yet], a nuclear weapon that does not exist and technicians who are not yet in school," said Roux.
Luxeuil will be closed between 2029 and 2032 for the key works and the arrival of the first Rafales.
Source: HDN
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