Two French Rafale Jets Collide in Mid-Air, Resulting in the Deaths of Two Pilots

Two French pilots died on Wednesday after their Rafale fighter planes collided in mid-air in eastern France, President Emmanuel Macron said, marking a rare accident involving the cutting-edge military aircraft.

One pilot ejected following the crash over northeastern France, but authorities launched a desperate search for a missing instructor and a student pilot on the second aircraft.

“We learn with sadness the death of Captain Sebastien Mabire and Lieutenant Matthis Laurens in an air accident during a Rafale training mission,” Macron posted on X, formerly Twitter. The local prefecture added, “The military authorities will report on the causes of the accident.”

The supersonic Rafale “multi-role” fighter, which is used to hunt enemy planes, strike ground and sea targets, carry out reconnaissance, and even carry France’s nuclear warheads, has become a bestseller for the French arms industry.

Accidents involving Rafale jets are rare.

“We heard a loud noise around 12:30 pm,” said Patrice Bonneaux, deputy mayor of Colombey-les-Belles. He noted that it wasn’t the usual sonic boom of a fighter jet breaking the sound barrier. “It was a strange noise, a percussive sound.”

“I assumed that two planes had collided, but we didn’t believe it,” he added, mentioning that a road bordering a nearby forest had been cordoned off. In December 2007, a Rafale plane crashed near Neuvic in southwestern France. Investigators concluded that the pilot had become disoriented.

That was believed to be the first crash of a Rafale.

In September 2009, two Rafale aircraft went down while flying back to the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle off the coast of Perpignan after completing a test flight. One pilot died.

France has sold the Rafale to Egypt, India, Greece, Indonesia, Croatia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates.

In January, Lecornu announced that France had ordered 42 new Rafale fighter jets, with the first to be delivered in 2027. The French military has now ordered more than 230 Rafales since the jet entered service.

Macron has urged defense manufacturers to boost production and innovation as Europe seeks to increase arms supplies to support Ukraine, which has been struggling to fend off Russia’s invasion, now in its third year.