French Rafale Gets A New Engine At Sea

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French Squadron Performs Jet Engine Swap-Out Aboard U.S.S. Truman

As part of interoperability operations with the French Navy, a maintenance crew for the French aircraft Rafale F3 performed a jet engine swap-out on board USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) June 4. The Rafale, a fourth generation fighter jet capable of performing both air-to-air and air-to-ground missions attached to CVN Charles de Gaulle (R 91), was conducting carrier qualifications on board Truman.

Rafale Fighter Jet Lands Aboard U.S.S. Truman
"The French have conducted many carrier qualifications (CQs) with U.S. aircraft carriers in the past. However, this is the first time that an engine swap-out with a foreign navy has been done on a U.S. carrier," said Cmdr. Tim Hill, the VFA-32 executive officer and air wing liaison for French interoperability exercises. "This is a big step in working towards the ability to operate a French squadron on a U.S. carrier."