NEWS | 31 IMAGES
Eight weeks, thirteen countries, three continents, three major exercises. From 27 June to 15 August 2024, PÉGASE 24 set out from France with the most ambitious objectives till date, spotlighted by integration with European allies and diversification of trajectories to and from the Indo-Pacific region.
Named after a winged horse from Greek mythology, PÉGASE 24 is the fourth iteration of the long-range power projection mission by the French Air and Space Force (FASF, French: Armée de l’air et de l’espace).
Past PÉGASE missions have drilled down on France’s defence strategy in the Indo-Pacific region.
The inaugural mission in 2018 laid foundations, established the credibility of its air diplomacy, strengthened partnerships and cooperation between air forces in South and Southeast Asia. In 2022, PÉGASE took the momentum further; a 72-hour power projection to New Caledonia demonstrated protection of sovereignty in France’s overseas territories, coupled with participation in Pitch Black 2022. In 2023, PÉGASE was expanded significantly in size and duration, involving 19 aircraft and 320 personnel. The increase in the number of stopovers helped reinforce strategic partnerships in countries such as South Korea, Japan, Djibouti and Qatar, all for the first time under PÉGASE.
Operational interaction with France’s defence forces in the Indo-Pacific is not limited to PÉGASE; RASTABAN 2023, JEANNE D’ARC 2023 and HEIFARA-WAKEA 2021 were actively conducted in previous years.
PÉGASE 24 – Writing History on the 90th Anniversary of FASF
PÉGASE 24, the most ambitious yet, retains previous objectives of air diplomacy, safeguarding of France’s national interests, and commitment to freedom of navigation whilst taking on a coalition format. It includes three segments, of which two are still currently in progress, and a total of 7 Rafale, 5 A400M and 5 A330 MRTT aircraft. The segments are as follows:
PACIFIC SKIES: (27 June to 15 August) A trilateral deployment with Germany and Spain, members of the Future Combat Air System (FCAS, French: Système de combat aérien du futur; SCAF). Partaking in three distinct exercises: ARCTIC DEFENDER in Alaska, PITCH BLACK in Australia, TARANG SHAKI in India; and stopovers (Canada, Japan, Malaysia). The series of high intensity exercises serve to generate insights for research and development for the FCAS.
GRIFFIN STRIKE: (6 July to 10 July) Air component of the Combined Joint Expeditionary Force (CJEF), France-UK combined projection to Australia with support points (UAE, Singapore). See below for our expanded coverage on the Singapore stop.
NATIONAL RETURN PHASE: (23 July to 9 August) National return branch making valuable diplomatic stopovers in partner nations (Indonesia, Philippines, Singapore, Qatar, Egypt), allowing for joint training with local forces and tailored events (space, multi-domain operations HADR, etc.) to strengthen interoperability and showcase France’s equipment.
03: FASF Rafale, GAF Typhoon and SASF Typhoon for PÉGASE 24 (Jean-Luc BRUNET / armée de l’air et de l’espace) 
04: FASF A330 MRTT Phénix at the heart of Arctic Defender, refuelling USAF F-22 fighters (Ministère des Armées) 
05: FASF A330 MRTT Phénix accompanies RAF Typhoons for Griffin Strike (A. Biniaux / armée de l’air et de l’espace) 
06: Participating nations fly in formation over the training area during Exercise Pitch Black 24 (Australia Department of Defence) 
07: FASF forces arrive in JASDF Hyakuri Air Base for a valued stopover. (Twitter: jasdf_hyakuri) 
08: French forces receive a warm welcome during the Pacific Skies stopover in Japan (Rémi Najean / armée de l’air et de l’espace) 
09: FASF and GAF A400Ms from the Pacific Skies component operate with the RNZAF C-130 (Twitter: Armee_de_lair) 
10: FASF commences the National Return Phase, arriving in Halim Perdanakusuma International Airport in Jakarta, Indonesia (Morgane Vallé / armée de l’air et de l’espace)
PÉGASE 24 – Routing
GRIFFIN STRIKE – 8,500-mile CJEF Projection Exercise
On 9 July 2024, a press conference was held in Paya Lebar Air Base, Singapore, where the media were briefed on the objectives, significance and operational challenges of both PÉGASE 24 and the nested-within Exercise Griffin Strike.
In the opening speech, Her Excellency, Ms Minh-di Tang, French Ambassador to Singapore said one of the main objectives of PÉGASE 24 is “to strengthen partnership, not any confrontation”, and it is PÉGASE’s “first partnership with European partners under two distinct branches (Pacific Skies and Griffin Strike).”
H.E. Ms Tang highlights the significance of the Franco-British relationship in Exercise Griffin Strike, the first is to “celebrate the 120th anniversary of the Entente Cordiale”, the second is to “enable us to illustrate the commitment of our two European nations to defend a free and open Indo-Pacific.”
PÉGASE 24 takes into account the recent context of geopolitics, and as H.E. Ms Tang recalls the 36th Franco-British Summit, France “remains fully committed in the diplomatic mission” and secondly, “to strengthen partnerships with the region, more specifically with Southeast Asia and Singapore.”
Illustrating the numerous air deployments Singapore hosted, from PÉGASE to RATABAN, H.E. Ms Minh-Di Tang affirms Singapore as a “long-standing, reliable and trustworthy strategic partner.” Last, she concluded that Griffin Strike and PÉGASE 24 “testify to the consistency of French presence in this area and the high degree of cooperation with Singaporean forces.”
In the speech by Alex Bamford, Deputy High Commissioner, British High Commission in Singapore, he also reiterated on the common values shared in the UK-France relationship since the Entente Cordiale, sharing a commitment “to work together in favor of prosperity, stability and peace around the world, and to strengthen an international order based on the rule of law”. He added that Griffin Strike “demonstrates not just the ambition of our relationship, but also our willingness to deploy and operate together in the Indo-Pacific”.
Mr Bamford also drew on UK’s long history and shared interests in the Indo-Pacific region; the region accounts for about 17.5% of UK trade and is home to 1.7 million British citizens. “In the years ahead, many of the most pressing global challenges that will define the prospects for our security and prosperity will find their solutions in this region.”
He concluded by reaffirming UK-Singapore’s relationship, which has notably been elevated to a strategic partnership just last year, “are both close and long-standing, whether under the ambit by power defence arrangements, or through the wide variety of professional interactions between our armed services across all domains.”
Continuing, Brigadier General Guillaume Thomas, Chief of Air Operations Staff, Air Defence and Air Operations Command (CDAOA), Commander of PÉGASE 2024, expanded on the objectives of PÉGASE missions, “to affirm the capacity of French forces to protect our overseas territories and national interests, to demonstrate that France is a credible and reliable military partner, to ensure freedom of movement and navigation in a free airspace, and to enhance our bilateral and multilateral cooperation.”
When asked on differences behind the size and objectives of PÉGASE missions each year, he added, “When we create and understand what will be the PÉGASE edition in the future, we have to deal with all our professional engagements to see what we are able to deploy. For example, this year, we have to deal with the fact that our French forces are very engaged for the Olympic Games. So, the way to think about how many aircraft will we send, are we able to do that? Perhaps next year it will be different because we will have less pressure, or not, for example.” Regardless, he concluded, “we try and catch every opportunity when we can, when we’re able to deploy our assets.”
Colonel Eddie Maskell-Pedersen, Head of the British Defence Staff Southeast Asia and Defence Advisor to Singapore also provided insights to Griffin Strike, which showcases “the growing maturity of the Combined Joint Expeditionary Force (CJEF), created as part of the Defense and Security Cooperation Treaty signed in 2010 in Lancaster house.”
The exercise “demonstrates CJEF’s ability to plan and execute tasking at range, which enables long range air power projection and the ability to counter threats to both nations in a fully integrated way” and is “CJEF’s most ambitious air exercise to date, consisting six Typhoons, three Rafale aircraft, three MRTTs and two A400Ms”. It is noted that CJEF’s ability to “both direct and control aircraft at range in support of tasking in a bespoke environment” is made possible through the Centre air de planification et de conduite des opérations (CAPCO/Air Operations Planning and Control Centre) at Lyon-Mont-Verdun Air Base, France.
Last, he emphasized that “UK places partnership at the heart of our regional approach”, providing a list of continued engagements which includes Five Power Defence Arrangements (FPDA), UK’s application to ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting-Plus (ADMM-plus), permanent deployment of HMS Spey, HMS Tamar, AUKUS, the Hiroshima Accord, the Downing Street Accord, Carrier Strike Group 21 (CSG21), and the upcoming CSG25. He said, “all of the above goes to highlight the UK firmly believes that open and honest dialogue and finding new ways to work together makes the Indo-Pacific region stronger and more secure.”
Group Captain Pete Thorbjornsen, Deputy Assistant Chief of Staff, No. 11 Group Royal Air Force (RAF), senior representative for Griffin Strike then elaborated on the complexity of the CJEF construct for Griffin Strike, requiring “a lot of planning and coordination”, due to the different operating environment from the regular NATO reassurance missions or exercises in UK and over France. Some factors mentioned were the “size of the cells, the humidity, the temperature going through the Middle East, access, basing and overflight issues”. Giving an example, “if you do have delays, they can end up being quite large; and so, the diplomatic process they are getting through all the way to here is really essential, and that (the joint command and control headquarters in Lyon) has enabled the long-range power projection in a timely fashion.”
He also touched on the interoperability, especially with common operating platforms such as MRTT/Voyager and A400M. “Just to have a bit more understanding of each other, and to prove how we go forward to the future is, we have a UK Typhoon pilot on the French tanker as a liaison officer to explain what may be happening, to get a better understanding of how we do our business, so we can learn from it because we don’t do everything exactly the same.”
He summarised, “even communications between the aircraft and what’s happening and who’s taken off, even that can be quite difficult in the challenging environment when everyone is trying to get airborne at a specific time.” “It might seem pretty straightforward. It’s not. So, getting the communications back and forward and internally you know that that’s where we’re learning some real lessons, but it’s working very well.”
Photo Gallery
