franceinfo met Commander Nicolas, Rafale aircraft pilot and second-in-command of the flotilla on the Charles-de-Gaulle aircraft carrier, deployed in the Red Sea.
Nicolas is a Rafale pilot and second in command of the Charles-de-Gaulle aircraft carrier. His “war call-sign” (his nickname), he specifies, “It’s ‘Gillette’. I have just over 2,000 flight hours on a fighter plane. I had the chance to fly the Super-Étendard from 2012 to 2016, a little exchange on F- 18 in the United States for two years, and on Rafale for four years now.”
Since February 24, 2022, “it’s not the same mental pattern”: listen to the full interview with Commander Nicolas
listen
franceinfo: The Rafale, is it a different plane from the others, in your opinion?
Commander Nicholas: I can talk to you about it for hours! It’s the most beautiful plane I’ve ever flown. It is a compendium of French engineering and know-how which is monstrous, both on the avionics part, namely the radar, the self-protection system, the armament, the combat system which is integrated and which is really fusion with the pilot. When you start on this plane, you really feel like a rocket pilot.
When you were little, did you want to do this job?
No way. I had a policeman father, I wanted to be a firefighter. Of course there was Top Gun also when I was twelve years old. But it is above all to rub shoulders with the sons of pilots. I was lucky to have health, a little cognitive. And then my terminal teachers, who told me: you have the skills to be a pilot, don’t give up. I didn’t give up and that’s where I am. We feel like we’re piloting a rocket, but we’re actually completely normal men.
“The particularity of landing on an aircraft carrier with shocks like a car accident, it’s fantastic!”
Commander Nicholasat franceinfo
You feel immensely proud…
Yes, we are proud of what we do. But there is something that is important, it is humility. The risk, the danger, it is permanent. So there is a constant questioning. I am 38 years old, every day I learn something. Do not feel stronger than all the rest, facing the “strategic competitor” [En 2017, la Revue stratégique de défense a décrit “le retour de la compétition militaire” et désigné comme “compétiteurs stratégiques” les “grandes puissances entreprenantes”, citant la Russie et la Chine]faced with a new situation, faced with a danger in the machine, you have to be able to keep your feet on the ground.
How do you feel when you’re up there?
We think about the mission, essentially. There are plenty of missions in the mission. The first, you have to be catapulted. The second, you have to transit, talk to different control bodies. We cross several countries. Then, the Rafale has what is called a “playtime”, an endurance which is relatively long, but it does not allow six hours of flight without refueling. So you have a fairly large supply phase. When it’s turbulent, when it’s dark, when it’s cloudy, you’re driving in fog and trying to refuel a plane at 250 knots [463 km/h] on another plane a little bigger than you, and you’re on the verge of trying to get fuel. It is a maneuver in its own right. We do up to three in a 7 hour flight. And of course you have the pure mission part.
“I can assure you that the level of concentration means that you don’t have time to think about anything else.”
Commander Nicholasat franceinfo
Is there a part of adrenaline?
Yes, clearly. The goal is to condition yourself to perform well in all phases. There is a last “mission in the mission” which is not negligible: the landing. After seven hours of flight, you can well imagine the fatigue, the concentration. We leave during the day, where everyone sees everyone, and we come back at night. The boat is just a small light until you get to about thirty meters where the track becomes a little bigger. So, you have to re-motivate yourself, refocus. You don’t necessarily have time to think in flight, even on a six and a half hour flight. I assure you that the office is really nice, we have a beautiful view, but the time of pleasure for oneself… Already, we have the impression of stealing the taxpayer when we have fun for about thirty seconds!
You will regularly come across Russian soldiers. Do you have the feeling that your life, your mission, has changed since February 24?
Yes, clearly. It’s been years that we are, that we are “side by side”, to train or to cross, to look at each other. Obviously, we are not at war with Russia, but we know that the Russian military are really at war. It’s not the same mental pattern. Let’s say that it remains very professional in terms of the interactions we can have, whether in the air or with combat buildings. But we do not have the same apprehension. I’m not going to say we’re scared. No way. But there should be no misunderstanding. Me, I am 38 years old, I am a father, I am entrusted with a Rafale which is worth millions of euros. I am entrusted with rules of engagement, rules of behavior specific enough not to be the “strategic warrior”, that is to say the one who would create misunderstanding vis-à-vis a strategic competitor by triggering a sort of inappropriate response.
“We are very professional in avoiding this mistake which could potentially trigger something that we do not control.”
Commander Nicholasat franceinfo
Death, you think about it more since February 24?
No not at all. I’ve had my six, or seven lives, depending on which God you believe in [il rit]. Death, I thought about it when my first child was born. I had a lot of metaphysical questions. And since that day, I have rather learned to control the risk. We very rarely think about it and in fact, we try to escape it a little every day. Let’s say that if we dance, we are the ones who set the pace.