France Launches 40-Day Pegase 26 Global Fighter Jet Mission

Four French fighter jets lifted off from Istres air base in southern France on Tuesday, beginning a 40-day mission that will carry them through the Arctic, the tropics and finally the desert. The exercise, named Pegase 26, will cover 40,000 kilometres, span three continents and include nine stopovers, with the aircraft operating alongside international partners at each stage.

The Rafale jets — two single-seaters and two twin-seaters — are supported by three refuelling planes, two transport aircraft and roughly 300 personnel, with operations coordinated from a headquarters near Lyon. The mission, nearly a year in planning, is designed to show that France can defend distant territories and allies while deepening air cooperation with strategic partners including Japan, South Korea, Indonesia and India.

"In practical terms, we fly together, we land together, we work together," deputy defence minister Alice Rufo said before departure. "If we're called upon to act together in the face of a threat, we need to be immediately interoperable." She added that such readiness must be prepared through exercises like this one.

The opening leg took the jets toward Alaska, passing over Greenland, where an Airbus A400M capable of landing on ice was positioned. The flight from Istres to Alaska lasted nearly 11 hours and required five midair refuellings. Later stages will see the aircraft transit the Persian Gulf via Qatar before concluding in Egypt, a route intended to underscore France's commitment to international law and freedom of navigation in regions where those principles face pressure.

General Julien Sabènè, the Pegase 26 commander, noted that this is the first time the annual exercise, held since 2018, has headed north over Greenland toward Alaska. "It's important for us that we explore different routes," he said, explaining that the northern path offers an alternative should access through the Indo-Pacific become difficult. He also pointed to climate change, which is altering maritime routes and making the Arctic more accessible to possible adversaries such as China and Russia. "There is a need for us to be present in the High North alongside our allies, and naturally alongside the Danes, who are an integral part of Greenland," he said.

The mission unfolds six months after President Emmanuel Macron offered to extend France's nuclear umbrella to European partners amid concerns about US reliability on security matters. Some Rafale jets can carry nuclear-armed missiles and would likely be paired with the same Airbus A330 MRTT refuelling aircraft for long-range delivery. Officials stressed, however, that Pegase 26 is not a nuclear exercise: the jets carry no live weapons, only mock conventional armaments that add weight and alter aerodynamics for realism. Pilots from France's Strategic Air Force, which operates part of the nuclear deterrent, are taking part.

The long-distance flight also demonstrates France's ability to move combat aircraft quickly between potential conflict zones in the Arctic, Pacific and Middle East, where many US refuelling planes remain committed to the Iran war, while sustaining operations from French bases. Rufo said the mission shows France can exercise freedom of navigation while respecting international rules with allied support. "Sovereignty can only be effectively exercised within a network of partnerships," she said, "and the exceptional number of partners involved in this mission demonstrates that."