Can Macron help Zelensky 1 ? French air force can sustain just 1 to 3 days of combat so low are its weapons strockpiles, says a major new report

French Air Force has such a small stockpile of missiles and other munitions that it would last only three days of intense combat under modern warfare conditions and for Meteor-type missiles, the available stockpile would barely sustain even one day of combat,  a report by French experts has claimed.

https://www.ifri.org/fr/etudes/lavenir-de-la-superiorite-aerienne-maitriser-le-ciel-en-haute-intensite

From media 

France has extremely limited capabilities for conducting modern air warfare, which has become a serious cause for alarm

Current calculations show that the French Air Force has such a small stockpile of missiles and other munitions that it would last only three days of intense combat under modern warfare conditions. For Meteor-type missiles, the available stockpile would barely sustain even one day of combat.

Moreover, a separate issue is the state of the French Air Force itself, which consists only of fourth-generation aircraft. Even France’s best combat aircraft, the Rafale, struggles during training exercises against fifth-generation fighters of hypothetical adversaries.

More specifically, the French analytical institute Institut Français des Relations Internationales (IFRI) has published an extensive report on the current state of France’s combat aviation. The full text is available at this link, and a summarized version has appeared in Western media. Below, we outline the key points of the report.

When it comes to France’s stockpiles of aerial munitions, experts highlight that this issue has already become a chronic problem. Even the air campaign against Muammar Gaddafi’s regime in Libya in 2011 demonstrated the need for larger reserves of guided bombs, air-to-air missiles, and air-launched cruise missiles to effectively strike enemy infrastructure.

The IRFI analysts also point out that France has not even replenished its stocks of SCALP-EG cruise missiles and Aster 30 surface-to-air missiles, which were supplied to Ukraine as part of military aid. This issue further highlights the limited capacity of the French military to conduct modern air warfare.

Regarding the state of French aviation, experts emphasize another critical point. France squandered its historical opportunity when, instead of developing a fifth-generation fighter in the early 1990s, it chose to focus on the Rafale as a fourth-generation aircraft. As a result, the French Air Force received a high-performance combat aircraft that, however, does not fully meet modern warfare challenges—especially in terms of low observability (stealth).

Additionally, the Rafale’s onboard electronics require constant upgrades, particularly given the outcomes of various training exercises involving simulated air battles in different scenarios.

https://www.francetvinfo.fr/replay-radio/le-vrai-du-faux/la-france-a-t-elle-seulement-trois-jours-de-munitions-devant-elle-en-cas-de-conflit-a-haute-intensite_4994466.html