4apr2018: Rafales fly to Oceana for US aircraft carrier TDY

[Stratofreighter]

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Source: French Armed Forces Ministry; issued March 27, 2018)

(Issued in French; unofficial translation by Defense-Aerospace.com)

LANDIVISIAU, France --- The twelve Rafale-M fighters participating in the French Navy’s “Chesapeake Deployment” will depart Naval Air Station Landivisiau on Wednesday, April 04, 2018, and fly to the US Naval Air Station Oceana, on the East Coast of the United States.

From April 3 to May 27, nearly 350 sailors belonging to the French Navy’s carrier air group and to the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle will be deployed in the United States to continue their operational training.

This deployment, dubbed "Chesapeake" in reference to the Battle of Chesapeake Bay, during the American War of Independence, aims to maintain the skills of French sailors and the interoperability between the Navy and the US Navy.

It will consist of an onshore phase, on board Naval Air Station (NAS) Oceana, followed by a second phase aboard the aircraft carrier (CVN) George H.W. Bush.

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