The private military company Babcock France announced on December 12, 2024, that it has taken control of the infrastructure at the previously abandoned Dijon-Longvic airbase, which housed several renowned Air Force units until 2016, such as squadrons 1/2 Cigognes, 2/2 Côte d’Or, and 3/2 Alsace.
This Dijon-Longvic airbase was closed as part of "infrastructure optimization," but it has now received a literal "new lease on life" and will be utilized for combat training for the French Air Force. This was reported in a publication on the Opex360 portal.
It is noted that the private military company Babcock France operates a fleet of 11 L-39 "Albatros" training aircraft, which were purchased from the civilian aerobatic group Breitling Jet Team.
The acquired aircraft and the infrastructure of the Dijon-Longvic airbase are planned to be used by Babcock France specifically for training advanced aviation navigators and flight instructors, enabling the retraining of fighter pilots.
Additionally, it is stated that the training program from Babcock France will be specially tailored for the preparation of "pilots from foreign air forces," although it does not specify which countries are involved in this case.
It is also declared that Babcock France is ready to offer its services directly for the training of the French armed forces as part of their combat training activities.
From Defense Express, we emphasize that this news is indeed significant in outlining the overall trend of utilizing private military companies for aviation personnel training in European countries.
Previously, we also wrote about why a company from the Netherlands purchased decommissioned L-39ZA "Warsaw Pact" aircraft in Thailand and how this is relevant to us.