The sole specimen of the Rafale C01 will soon be permanently exhibited in the garden of the Ministry of Armed Forces, in Paris.
It’s simply a matter of time! After a Leclerc tank in 2018, the new site of the Ministry of Armed Forces, near the Balard metro stop in Paris, will play host to a Rafale C01 within its walls, in the Victor section. Currently stored at the Elément Air Rattaché (EAR) 279 of Châteaudun (an annex of the Orléans-Bricy base 121 where many decommissioned aircraft are stored), the Rafale C01, easily recognizable in flight with its dull black paint (it will be repainted gray before being exhibited), should stand out easily in the middle of the French capital’s 15th arrondissement.
Commissioned in May 1991 (it flew at Mach-1 from the start), the Rafale C prototype logged hundreds of flying hours through 1996. With just a single plane built – the one that will grace the Ministry of Armed Forces with its presence – it was used for numerous tests, and in particular to test the Snecma M88 turbojet engines (which still power several Rafale models) and various pilot-aircraft connections.
Permanent exhibition. Installation in the course of 2019. Rafale C01. Ministère des Armées, 60, boulevard du général Martial Valin. 75015 Paris.
