Patrouille de France

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Patrouille de France
Patrouille de France
Active	Active since 1931: Patrouille d'Étampes Patrouille de l'École de l'Air Patrouille de France (official demonstration) 14 September 1931 – Present
Country	France
Branch	French Air and Space Force
Role	Aerobatic flight display team
Size	10 Alpha Jet out of which 8 in flight (total size 41)
Base	Base Aérienne 701 Salon-de-Provence, Bouches-du-Rhône, France
Nickname(s)	La PAF
Colors	Blue, white and red
Equipment	Alpha Jet
Commanders
Notable commanders	1st Commandant of the Patrouille in 1953 Général de corps aérien Pierre Delachenal[1]
Aircraft flown
Trainer	1953–1954 Republic F-84 1954–1957 Dassault Ouragan 1957–1964 Dassault Mystère IV 1964–1981 Fouga Magister 1981–present Dassault/Dornier Alpha Jet

The Patrouille acrobatique de France (French pronunciation: [patʁuj akʁɔbatik də fʁɑ̃s], "French Acrobatic Patrol"), also known as the Patrouille de France (PAF), is the precision aerobatics demonstration unit of the French Air and Space Force, officially commissioned in 1953.

Using the French Aerial Aerobatics (French: Voltige aérienne Française) unit of the French Air and Space Force, the mission is to represent it and lead the ambassadorship role of French aeronautics overseas. Stationed at Aerial Base 701 Salon-de-Provence in Bouches-du-Rhône, it is the oldest (active since 1931) and considered one of the best in the world.^[2] Comprising 9 pilots and 35 mechanics, the patrol (La Patrouille) splits its time between winter season (saison hivernale) training and summer season (saison estivale) aerial displays.

The unit traditionally opens the Bastille Day military parade in Paris with 9 Alpha Jets, presenting a twenty-minute demonstration of formation changes and crossovers narrated by the director of the French Air Force presentation team, also a jet pilot as well as the public relations officer. Each maneuver is filmed by a photo and video specialist, as a pilot is also usually present (often the replacement pilot), supervising the communications between the PAF and the controller for flight safety.