Lieutenant-Colonel Cyril covers his ears on the airstrip, so deafening is the noise of the Rafales returning from the mission. Fighter pilot for more than ten years in Mont-de-Marsan, directly trained in Rafale, he is the squadron commander of the 2/30 Normandie/Niemen fighter regiment. Since the beginning of the war, the lieutenant-colonel has been called upon to carry out several surveillance missions on NATO’s borders. Missions of several hours, alone in his Rafale, to ensure that no device penetrates the area.
France Bleu Gascogne: What is your role in NATO border surveillance missions, particularly in Poland?
Lieutenant Colonel Cyril: As commander of the unit, it is to ensure that my personnel are prepared, that they are able to carry out the missions. This is what we call “being at the rendezvous of operations” and this is what we were able to demonstrate during our flights carried out in Poland, on the borders of Ukraine. My goal is to ensure that the pilots are ready to leave on a political decision. And that’s what happened on February 24th.
ExactlyvsHow was February 24, the day war was declared in Ukraine, for you?
You should know that we were on high alert during the previous weeks, which allowed us to prepare ourselves, both intellectually and personally, and leave at the first whistle for this mission. The armies were ready to face the slightest event in this situation. At the beginning, the missions were a little denser than currently. The number of missions is unfortunately unclassified, but it involved many of my pilots and intelligence personnel, who had to work day and night. And that also applies to our mechanics.
How long does a mission take? What does it look like?
It is a mission that is carried out with two Rafales, one pilot per plane. Both aircraft are supported by an in-flight tanker aircraft which is responsible for transferring oil to us. On the spot, our role is that of border guard. We are there to ensure that there is no incursion into Polish airspace, thanks to our radars and our planes which detect other aircraft. These are missions that are carried out in an allied framework, with several nations, American, British or even Polish. All these means, day and night, work to secure the airspace on the western flank of Europe.
And physically, how is it for you, alone in your Rafale for several hours?
These are quite demanding missions. As you can imagine, we go to 8 hours of flight harnessed on an ejection seat. It imposes working conditions that are quite demanding because you have to know how to spare your effort. You can’t be focused on eight hours all the time. You just have to be able to hydrate and eat. And it is precisely because we train regularly, that we make a lot of flights in times of peace, that we can be able to carry out our mission. It’s a responsibility, but it’s also a source of pride because it’s the culmination of so many years of work. It’s an investment, sacrifices that have been made. For us, being at the heart of the news gives meaning to all the investment we have made over the past ten years.