LUXEUILLESBAINS, FRANCE
\nIn a sign of the growing security nerves in Europe, France has embarked on a $1.7 billion renovation of an air base in remote hills in the east of the country so it can handle nuclear-armed bombers.
\nThe work will take a decade but from 2035 the Luxeuil-Saint Sauveur base will be twice the size it is now and it will house new generation hypersonic missiles carried by 50 of France\u2019s Rafale fighter jets. President Emmanuel Macron announced at the base in March — on the day that US President Donald Trump and Russia\u2019s President Vladimir Putin discussed the Ukraine war — that it was to become the first to welcome the latest Rafale jets and France\u2019s ASN4G nuclear-capable air-to-ground missiles.
\nLuxeuil will become the fourth, but most modern, base in France capable of storing nuclear weapons.
\nThe base currently has about 20 Mirage-2000 jets, which are no longer in production. Its triangle shaped hangars date from 1952, according to base commander, Colonel Emmanuel Roux. They have been \u201cwell used\u201d, according to Roux who said he had seen pictures of President Charles de Gaulle there in 1962. \u201cIt was the same,\u201d he joked.
\nThe hangars will go as the Rafales will not fit in them. \u201cWe will have to redo everything for the infrastructure,\u201d the colonel said. The Rafale is also heavier than the Mirage so Luxeuil\u2019s runway will also have to be made longer and tougher.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
LUXEUILLESBAINS, FRANCE In a sign of the growing security nerves in Europe, France has embarked on a $1.7 billion renovation of an air base in remote hills in the east of the country so it can handle nuclear-armed bombers. The work will take a decade but from 2035 the Luxeuil-Saint Sauveur base will be twice […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":481722,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-481702","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n