Bastille Day, Paris 2019: aircraft movements at Evreux AFB

Bastille Day Paris Evreux
French Mirage 2000 fighters taxiing at Evreux AFB, France.

Every year on July 14th, the National Military Parade (‘défilé’) is held in the French capital Paris; to commemorate the beginning of the French Revolution. On July 14th 1789, the Bastille prison was raided by the people from Paris, an event that started the French Revolution. A military parade is held on the ground on the Champs Elysees with foot-soldiers, trucks and tanks; while overhead aircraft and helicopters make a flyby overhead Paris in the air parade (‘défilé aérien’)

The theme of this year was European Cooperation, with many aircraft and helicopters cooperating together with the French armed forces


The flying participants flew from various airbases, sometimes from their homebases: C-130 Hercules (BA Orleans), A400M Altas (BA Orleans), E-3F AWACS (BA Avord), C-135F (BA Istres) , Navy Rafales (BAN Landivisiau) Navy support aircraft (BAN Lahn-Bihoue). Sometimes from airbases close to Paris if fuel was an important factor (BA Evreux (north-west of Paris) for fighters and transport , BA Villacoublay (south of Paris) for the Patrouille de France, BA Creil (north of Paris) for all helicopters.

BA Evreux

In the morning of the 14th at Base Aerienne Evreux (ICAO:LFOE), there was a photo-moment to witness the flight-preparations and take-off of most fighters. The participating Rafales, Mirage 2000s and foreign visitors (Spanish and British Eurofighters, German Tornado, Belgian F-16) took off from runway 04 to fly overhead Paris, while the spare aircraft did their flight-preparations but only left BA Evreux after the parade was over. All French aircraft returned directly to their homebase afterwards, while the foreign jets returned to BA Evreux. A Dutch F-16 flew directly from it’s homebase of Volkel and returned home immediately after the parade..

From BA Evreux a local C-160G Transall Gabriel and a CASA CN235 flew in the parade while a visiting Spanish C-130 Hercules landed afterwards. For the C-160G Transall Gabriel, it was the last time, as the two remaining C-160G’s will be retired soon.


Aircraft parade

Patrouille de France

- 9 AlphaJets (with the french colours red, white, blue)

Permanent posture of European security

- 1 E-3F AWACS (EDCA 00.036)
- 2 M2000-5 (2e escadre de Chasse)
- 1 Typhoon (Spain)
- 1 Typhoon (United Kingdom)

Opération Chammal (the fight against IS/ISIS/DAECH in Syria/Iraq)

- 1 C-135F (GRV 2/91 Bretagne)
- 1 Rafale C (30e escadre de Chasse)
- 1 Rafale B (4e escadre de Chasse)
- 1 Tornado (Germany)
- 1 F-16 (the Netherlands)
- 2 Rafale B (4e escadre de Chasse)
- 1 F-16 (Belgium)

Opération Barkhane (the fight against IS/ISIS/DAECH in central Africa)

- 3 M2000 D (3e escadre de Chasse)
- 2 M2000 C (2e escadre de Chasse)

Nuclear Deterrence

- 1 Airbus A330 (Phenix)
- 2 M2000-5 (2e escadre de Chasse)
- 4 Rafale (4e escadre de Chasse)

Preparation for the future

- 2 Rafale B (ETR 3/4 Aquitaine)
- 2 Alphajet (Ee 3/8 Côte d’Or)
- 1 Fokker 100 (DGA-CEV, first appearance)

Returned from deployment/ upgrade to standard F3R

- 4 Rafale M (Marine Nationale)

Training formation

- 2 Alphajet (EAC)
- 2 PC21 (EPAA, first appearance)
- 3 TB30 EPSILON (EPAA, last appearance)

Support flight

- 1 FALCON (ET 60 )
- 1 CN-235 CASA (ET 64 )
- 1 Atlantique 2 (Marine National)
- 1 Falcon 50 M (Marine National)

Operational commitment

- 1 A400M (61e Escadre)
- 1 C-160 H FS
- 1 CASA CN-235 (portugal)

European Cooperation

- 1 C-130J (ET 2/61 Franche-Comté)
- 1 C-130 (Spain)
- 1 A400M (Atlas, Germany)


- 1 C-160 Transall Gabriel

Sécurité civile

- 1 Canadair CL415
- 2 Dash Q400 MR

Helicopter parade

Attack Helicopters

- 1 Gazelle HF-v
- 2 Tigre
- 1 Tigre (Spain)
- 1 Tigre (Germany)

Assault helicopters

- 2 NH90 Caïman
- 2 Cougar
- 1 NH90 Caïman (Spain)
- 1 NH90 Caïman (Germany)
- 2 CH-47 (United Kingdom)

Special Forces

- 1 Tigre HAP
- 1 Gazelle
- 1 Cougar

IMEX Module

- 1 Puma PC
- 1 Tigre
- 1 Cougar

French-German helicopter school (EFA)

- 1 Tigre
- 1 Tigre (Spain)
- 1 Tigre (Germany)

Joint NH90 training centre (CFIA NH90)

- 1 NH90 Caïman
- 1 NH90 Caïman (Spain)
- 1 NH90 Caïman (Germany)

Territory protection and external intervention

- 1 Caracal (1/67 Pyrénées )
- 2 Fennec (3/67 Parisis )

Naval Combat and Rescue

- 1 NH90 Caïman (31F)
- 1 Panther
- 2 Lynx
- 2 Dauphin ESHE

Gendarmerie nationale

- 1 EC145
- 2 EC135

Sécurité civile

- 2 EC145


Text and Pics by Joris van Boven and Alex van Noye

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