The diplomatic rapprochement made by Donald Trump with Russia does not leave European partners indifferent or the members of the Transatlantic Military Alliance (NATO). Faced with the fear of seeing Washington disengled from its international responsibilities, France takes the initiative. The online media The War Zone reports that in the context of a military exercise entitled “Pégase 25”, the hexagon has taken off from its military bases several devices: six Rafale, two A400M transport aircraft as well as a Multi A330 transport aircraft.
This phase of the operation is part of a so -called “Grand Pégase Nord” mission, described by the French Air Force as “An unprecedented edition of our annual power projection mission”. The operation saw these means head towards Sweden to “Demonstrate the ability of the air force to deploy quickly, far and independently”. Some of the bursts sent to Sweden also have proven nuclear capacities, which testifies to the will of Paris to highlight the strength of its deterrence in the matter. A detail far from trivial as the Allied forces seek to show strong leadership and to fill the void left by the chaotic policy of Trump.
Pegasus 25 is part of a global strategic set, since another exercise takes place in parallel “Jade” (for squadron spur). The air force and French space trains in this context to disperse its aircraft towards secondary aerodromes, far from their usual bases, a practice which was common in the middle of the Cold War, but largely fell into disuse with the dislocation of the USSR in 1991.
(Our defense) this April 22, 2025, the 3rd hunting squadron of the BA 133 #Nancy ✈️ received an unexpected order: dispersion of its 2000D mirage and 2000b to five different aerial bases 🚨
A maneuver without warning called “jade” 📝 https://t.co/dxog8aqv8n 🇫🇷 pic.twitter.com/tekj8gwsxb– Laurent Albaret (@LaurentalBaret) April 22, 2025
The revival of tensions all over the globe brings back these old practices, which recently proven themselves during large -scale armed conflicts, especially in Ukraine. The Ukrainian Air Force managed to survive the Russian assaults of the first weeks following the large -scale invasion of the territory in February 2022, applying these principles. The United States, for its part, has changed its air combat doctrine in the peaceful area by incorporating these same provisions.
Send a strong signal
Obviously, the choice of France to carry out military exercises in Sweden is not just chance. Stockholm, who joined NATO in March 2024 following the concerns aroused by Russia and its war in Ukraine, is only a few thousand kilometers from the Russian borders.
With a naval presence in the Baltic Sea, the Swedish kingdom is of capital strategic importance for NATO and military security on the European continent. Aware of these realities, Paris sends strong signals: it would only take it a few hours to project itself into the north of Europe.
And that’s not all. In February 2025, an article in the British newspaper The Telegraph reported that France was considering the deployment of certain nuclear capacity planes in Germany – a possibility which, in view of the right cooperation between the two countries, should not pose a problem, according to an anonymous military source quoted by the daily.
French President Emmanuel Macron, who does not hesitate to regularly climb to the niche to denounce the attempts at destabilization carried out by Russia and the threat it represents for European security, intends to impose itself as the defender of the continental territory. So many initiatives that show that Paris takes tensions very seriously that cross European and global diplomatic relations.
