French Air Force conducts final Transall-flight

On 27 June, the Armée de l'Air et de l'Espace (AAE, French Air and Space Force) conducted its final "regular" C-160 Transall flight. Special-liveried R212/64-GL flew on this date from its base at Orléans to Toulouse-Blagnac where it will join the collection of Musée Aeroscopia.

Over the last few months, the AAE conducted a proper farewell-tour for the Transall that started on 14 March and saw the aircraft visit 24 cities in France over a period of twenty different days. The Transall has been part of the air force's fleet for 59 years, starting in 1963.

The AAE also operated two special C-160G Gabriel intelligence aircraft. Scramble Magazine reported on 17 November 2021 on the early retirement of the Gabriels operated by Escadron électronique aéroporté 1/54 Dunkerque (EEA01.054) at Evreux air base. This unit will receive three Dassault Falcon 8X Archange (Avions de Renseignement à Charge utile de Nouvelle Genération) aircraft. However, the first delivery is not expected before 2026.

One of the Gabriels, serial F216/GT, was delivered to the Musée de l'Air at Le Bourget on 20 June 2022. The other one, serial F221/GS, was flown to Chateaudun on 31 January 2022.

Photo by Clément Alloing via Twitter