French Naval Aviation

French Naval Aviation
Force maritime de l'aéronautique navale
Founded20 March 1912
Country France
Branch French Navy
TypeNaval aviation
Size6,800 personnel
178 aircraft[1][2]
Nickname(s)Sky Navy
'La Marine du Ciel
Motto(s)Honneur, patrie, valeur, discipline
Commanders
Current
commander
Contre-amiral Eric Janicot

French Naval Aviation (often abbreviated in French to: Aéronavale (contraction of Aéronautique navale), or Aviation navale, or more simply l'Aéro) is the naval air arm of the French Navy. The long-form official designation is Force maritime de l'aéronautique navale. Born as a fusion of aircraft carrier squadrons and the naval patrol air force, the Aéronavale was created in 1912. The force is under the command of a flag officer officially titled Admiral of Naval Aviation (ALAVIA) with his headquarters at Toulon naval base. It has a strength of around 6,800 military and civilian personnel. It operates from four airbases in Metropolitan France and several detachments in foreign countries or French overseas territories. Carrier-borne pilots of the French Navy do their initial training at Salon-de-Provence Air Base after which they undergo their carrier qualification with the US Navy.

  1. ^ "World Air Forces 2019". Flightglobal: 16. Retrieved 7 August 2019.
  2. ^ "Defence Key Figures: 2016 Edition". Defense.gouv.fr. Archived from the original on 27 November 2016. Retrieved 10 December 2016. (download PDF file or see HTML version Archived 6 September 2015 at the Wayback Machine)