The eight Dassault Alpha Jet Es of the world-renowned Patrouille Acrobatique de France are, perhaps surprisingly, the only French military aircraft on show at Dubai.

Surprisingly, because Dassault’s Rafale fighter-bomber remains a key player in a number of ongoing fighter competitions, being rated by many as being a front-runner to meet the Indian Air Force’s medium multi-role combat aircraft requirement, while the company’s Mirage 2000 has a strong presence in the region, meaning there is a large potential market for upgrades.

Formed in 1953 with four F-84s, the team, usually known simply as the Patrouille de France, claims to be one of the World’s oldest formation display teams. F-84s gave way to Dassault Mystère IVs, and later, in 1964, to Fouga Magisters. The team has flown the Alpha Jet since 1981. The aircraft are based at Salon-de-Provence, co-located with the French Air Force Academy.

Alpha Jet customers have included Egypt and Qatar, and when the Luftwaff

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