France gives air base $1.7 billion nuclear facelift

France gives air base $1.7 billion nuclear facelift
By Patrick BAERT
Luxeuil-Les-Bains, France (AFP) May 29, 2025

In a sign of the growing security nerves in Europe, France has embarked on a $1.7 billion renovation of an air base in remote hills in the east of the country so it can handle nuclear-armed bombers.

The work will take a decade but from 2035 the Luxeuil-Saint Sauveur base will be twice the size it is now and it will house new generation hypersonic missiles carried by 50 of France's Rafale fighter jets.

President Emmanuel Macron announced at the base in March -- on the day that US President Donald Trump and Russia's President Vladimir Putin discussed the Ukraine war -- that it was to become the first to welcome the latest Rafale jets and France's ASN4G nuclear-capable air-to-ground missiles.

Luxeuil will become the fourth, but most modern, base in France capable of storing nuclear weapons.

The base currently has about 20 Mirage-2000 jets, which are no longer in production.

Its triangle shaped hangars date from 1952, according to base commander, Colonel Emmanuel Roux. They have been "well used", according to Roux who said he had seen pictures of President Charles de Gaulle there in 1962. "It was the same," he joked.

The hangars will go as the Rafales will not fit in them. "We will have to redo everything for the infrastructure," the colonel said.

The Rafale is also heavier than the Mirage so Luxeuil's runway will also have to be made longer and tougher.

- Nuclear deterrent -

As nuclear bases are given extra protection, "we will have to increase security measures and the entire infrastructure to get up to speed," the colonel said, likening his work to "building a cathedral".

"We have 10 years to build the best base in France with planes that do not exist (yet), a nuclear weapon that does not exist and technicians who are not yet in school," said Roux.

Luxeuil will be closed between 2029 and 2032 for the key works and the arrival of the first Rafales.

There will be four times as many pilots as now as the Rafale has two crew. The 300 technicians currently at the base will expand to 1,000 by the time the new base is fully operational.

"Logistics wins the war," said Roux who highlighted the importance of speed in preparing jets for faster rotations between flights. A Rafale engine can be changed in one hour and an ejector seat in 15 minutes, he said.

Pilots at the base, who cannot be named, also said they were ready to carry nuclear weapons. "It's the weapon of last resort, but I think we're all ready to use it to protect our loved ones and our nation," said one.

Luxeuil is close to France's border with Germany, Switzerland, Luxembourg and Belgium and the position could also prove strategic.

Macron has also said that with the Russian invasion of Ukraine raging and heightening worries in the rest of Europe, France is ready to start discussing with other European countries the possible deployment of French nuclear-armed jets.

"I will define the framework in a very specific way in the weeks and months to come," Macron said in a television interview this month.

Russia has already condemned his comments. "The proliferation of nuclear weapons on the European continent is something that will not add security, predictability or stability to the European continent," said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.