French Rafale fighter jets operate with USS George H.W. Bush 

The French Rafale is just an unbelievably good looking fighter. And one of the top 2 , top 3 fighters in the world, with the Raptor.

This is outstanding! I hope the Rafale & the USN have many adventures! It's a great opportunity for both nations to see each others toys.

As an old Air Force guy I have to say this is fucking cool.

This is pretty cool tbh, I love how the french developed such an impressive multirole aircraft which can also be operated on aircraft carriers alongside the US super hornets Greetings from Italy

I'd like to point out to my fellow American viewers who might also be interested in joint US-French capabilities that a fair amount of French Navy pilots trainees are required, as part of their French flight certification course, to train and live at NAS Meridian in MS for months to get qualified on US Navy processes and flying T-45s. Failing to do so will not certify them to fly for the French Navy. Goes to show how important it is for the French Navy to be as perfect as it can be in interoperability with the US Navy. This joint training has been around for decades and is rightfully so prided by all French Navy personnel who spent some months of their life in Meridian. So you can imagine that these Rafales pilots landing on US carriers feel a bit like going home in a certain way. This is unheard of even in Europe we don't have this level of cooperation. FYI, F/A-18s are also routinely landing on Charles-de-Gaulle aircraft Carrier since it's been built to be fully interoperable with US hardware. Cheers from France folks.

Something that will never cease to impress me is the different ways in which engineers from different countries approach the same "problem" of creating a top tier aircraft. seeing the different planes from Europe like the Dassault Rafale, Eurofighter Typhoon or SAAB Gripen, etc be similar in many design aspects and still different in and unique in their own ways makes you wonder how the US engineers made crafts that seem for the most part so drastically different in their design from other planes around the world. Such an intriguing thing to see

Must have been a honour for the shooter to be able to help launch a French fighter off the deck

Vive U.S. Navy, la France et l aéronavale Rafale M. MERCI pour la vidéo !

beautiful friendship between French army and US army.....(let say between Europe and USA) as a Frenc man , I would like to take this opportunity to honor the memory of all american soldiers died in Europe to defend our freedoms.

When I was on the Roosevelt we had British Harriers land on our deck quite frequently. Mostly for fuel. The deck guys hated them because they tore up our nonskid. The heat was so strong coming off the Pegasus engine that it just melted the deck down to bare metal in a 3 foot circle. If we had a bunch of them they would always spot them in the same area as to not damage any more of the deck than needed. A sacrificial patch. But I never saw a fixed wing tail hook aircraft from another nation make a trap landing, catapult takeoff. Just helo's and Harriers.

🇺🇸🤝🇫🇷 Our 1st and oldest ally.

Vive le Rafale et vive la France! 🇫🇷

I began my service in NAVAIR during the Vietnam era. At the time, the USS Lexington (CVT-16} was used full time to carrier qualify pilots. I was stationed with an advanced jet training squadron in South Texas. Our pilots practiced carrier landing onshore using the duty runways which were marked like carrier decks and equipped with meatball mirrors. On carrier practice days an LSO (Landing Signal Officer) would be in place. Pilots saw the boat for the first time on carqual day. They had to shoot three bounces off of the angle deck with the hook up and then a trap (Arrested landing), and a cat shot. A bolter (Aircraft waved off by the LSO) did not automatically disqualify a pilot though it helped them very much to grab that No. 3 wire on their next attempt. We hosted some allied pilots as observers and we graduated a number of carrier qualified USAF pilots. You never forget your first trap because of that bang when you grab the wire. Side note: When I joined the squadron we were flying Grumman F9F-8 and TAF-9J Cougars. When I left we were flying Douglas A-4 and TA-4J Skyhawks. Both were superb aircraft. The Cougars were the most interesting because when you shot a bounce the aircraft would drop close to fifteen feet when you rolled off of the angle. The flight deck was roughly forty feet above the water.

The Frenchmen sure do know how to make a fighter jet. The rafale is one of my favorites.

Thumbs up for the sailors on the steel beach giving Honorable service !

I am pleasantly surprised . No white flag jokes on this thread ? As a Frenchman, I appreciate.😃

the French are the best allies of the USA, I'm happy to see them cooperating 🇨🇵🇺🇸🪖

Very interesting that the French Rafale was engineered with compatible arresting and nose gear for operations from USA carriers. Very good strategic planning.

It's great to see another good french-US cooperation... this time on the sea... as former staff sergeant, second to leader in platoon of AMX30B, based in Germany (16° BCP), I have had the chance to serve and work several times with the famous 1st US armoured cav brig (Ramstein) in the nineties... Only good memories with good guys. We may have some arguments sometimes but when it is important French and American can work shoulder to shoulder. Still serving as master sergeant right now, but in Gendarmerie in the middle-west of France, 30 years of service, twice injuried (a NDE by explosives then a 9 mm bullet) but no regret. Serving Others is a priviledge.

Our best Allies since the Revolutionary War, nice to see these actions. I was a Green Shirt (cats and gear) on CVN 72, CVN 69, and CV 66. Any aircraft that can land on the deck and withstand a cat shot is awesome.

"Impossible n'est pas français" Napoléon Bonaparte French pilots can land everywhere they want it to! 😎

"Just a walk in the park Kazanski" PS Rafale is gorgeous, but the F14 Tomcat will always have a place in my heart ❤

OUTSTANDING! Cool to see our Allies work together with each others Tech.....God Bless the US NAVY AND OUR ALLIES!

Love seeing videos like this. Gives me a good glimpse into what my dad did on the Nimitz

Nice 👍 🇫🇷🤝🇺🇸 :)

Boy that thing looks nice on one of our carriers. Nice to see the friendship with the French too!

A good pleasure to see.....hooooyyaa !! 🇨🇵🤝🇺🇲

French pilots must be comfortable landing on such a large ship, which is not the case for Americans on a French aircraft carrier

Joint training and joint operations always seem so fun. Nice to build relationships with allies.

Bester StadionVlog bisher. So geil, dass du da am Start warst.

The most sexiest jet fighter ever

great video, thanks a lot !

This is so cool. Always loved the Rafales

Happy French Pilots:"Hey this is like a Landbase! Easy landing....."

Fair Winds and Following Seas shipmates from a retired OS1

I didn't know Rafales could operate off U.S carriers, that is so cool. They are great looking jets

Vive la France

Awesome! Top notch technology through and through.

Say what you want about the frenchies but they build beautiful war machines such as the Rafale and Leclerc MBT

India just confirmed that the Rafale won against the F18 they will soon make their official announcement

I'd love to see this with my coffee every morning.

I believe the Rafale is the only non-US fighter that's certified to operate on US air carriers.

China: "i'll copy that shooter's movement"

We are not always agree, we have our own politics and strategies, but when there is a really big problem : we know we can count on each other. We keep our Rafale, but still glad that our allies have F35. Two excellent aircraft.

"So this is what a real jet is supposed to look like"---U.S. Navy.

Awesome! 👍🏾👍🏾👍🏾

Joint operations, teamwork

Very cool to see that the French naval pilots are just as skilled as the US navy pilots!!

Awesome video 😎👍🇺🇸🫡🇫🇷

This is awesome

i love it

Rafale is a highly capable jet. And visually attractive. In fact, Rafale and Raptor were contestants in Miss Universe Pageant. F-22 won 1st, Rafale 2nd (judges liked her canards). We Americans have canard-envy.

I am French Mexican and went to France years ago and got to see the Rafale at Salon de Provence Air Force base and it was amazing!! Yea it is also a beautiful aircraft the design is excellent!! France has a great aesthetics culture!!

Liked and shared. So cool. Just another day on the job . . . a French pilot learning to land on (and be handled by) a US supercarrier. Check out how large the flight deck is! The overflights and touch and go maneuvers acclimate the pilot to his new landing paradigm. Then he/she comes in for the real tests: arrested landing, inspection, turnaround, and catapult launch.

That's some power !! Probably didn't even need the jumper.

Thanks to our American allies ! God bless you

The new Electro Mag cats are unreal.

In baguette we trust !! Rafale power !!🤪

Outstanding!

Wow how cool to see our European partners on US Aircraft carriers👍

That's so cool ❤

Really cool

This shooter is so 😎!

Vive La France et les Etats Unis, vive la Liberte !!

Damn I miss being on the roof, Troubleshooting, & Final checking … nothing better then seeing your birds off the deck and walking back to the line shack…. Heads on a swivel, the sky’s are full missiles… Smooth Seas and Following winds…. Fight like you trained and ya’ll come home together. 🫡 👍💪 Chief D is off deck.

That's pretty cool.

Cool looking birds!

That's really cool

Rafale is just so damn good looking.

No one should be surprised that French navy pilots get their carrier qualification by doing almost all of last stage of their training on American carriers. The reason is simple: France only has the Charles de Gaulle which must always be operational, while the United States has multiple aircraft carriers to get qualified alongside American pilots. Joint maneuvers between American F-18 pilots on the Charles de Gaulle and French pilots on the different American carriers are regular.

Awesome 👍✈️

Sometimes I wish I had applied to attend the US Naval academy. Unfortunately it was not until I saw the movie "An Officer and a Gentleman". That was one hell of a recruiter movie for US Naval aviation!

very cool

Seeing this reminds me of working at a small airport compared to Ford class carrier is like working at a busy international airport station

The French are the only other nation with a "True" naval air arm.

Very cool!

Awesome.

That is so cool

Rafale Best plane.

Thats cool as hell. Ive alwsys liked the Rafiels

"You're cleared to land...as long as you brought the wine and fresh croissants you promised."

Beautiful bird❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥

It's a surprise to be sure, but a welcome one to see our foreign allies on one of our carriers. After seeing this (logistics, strategy, and politics aside), I would not mind seeing a squadron or two of our allies fly on one or more of our flat tops.

Frenchy....nice to see that...we are friends...never forget Normandy

Inside is now getting the Rafale-M for their carriers too

Awesome video !!! Semper Fi to my Marine Corp Brothers on board !!!!

my country bought a squadron of these 🇭🇷. Nice bird

Good to see French Navy aircraft cross decking with US carrier.

Woah. I had no ideal non U.S. planes were “compatible” with our carriers. Very cool.

It's always a good day when Rafale-Ms visit a US supercarrier.

Cool!

I think that’s a smart thing to do.

The Rafale’s front wheels are already aloft mid course when it takes off (around 0:06 ), you can tell it was designed for a smaller carrier.

NICE AIRCRAFT, NICE SHIP! John P.

holdback bar joint is the same? or did it need some custom one

I didn't even know these were carrier based. Wow.

Wow wasn't aware that the Rafale could land on a carrier. This is cool

I hope him at least brought some courtesy baguettes for the crew

"Tour, zis is 'Cavalier Fantôme' requesting un flyby, s'il vous plaît"

Took them a minute to capture the cord though… the Rafale is a great plane