Armée de Terre Rents Civil Aircraft for Paratrooper Training

The initiative stems from a “demande d’informations” (DI) with reference DI_Location_d_avions_certifies: it is not yet a “classic” tender, but a phase of market sounding to understand which civil operators can provide certified aircraft with crew and under what technical-economic conditions.

The main administrative points emerge from the sheet on PLACE (Portail des marchés publics):

• Administration/purchasing entity: Ministère des Armées, purchasing entity MINARM / SCA / PFAT – Plate-forme affrètement et transport.
• Deadline to respond to the DI: January 12, 2026, at 10:00 AM (Paris time).
• Procedure and category: “Procédure autre”, main category “Fournitures”, no allotment (not divided into lots).
• CPV code: 60424000 (rental of air transport equipment with crew).
• Useful operational note: on PLACE it is indicated that electronic response is not mandatory and no electronic signature is required for this consultation.

From the PFAT entity profile on PLACE, it is also derived where the office managing these practices is “located”: Base aérienne 107, aeronautical zone, Vélizy-Villacoublay (78140), with email and phone contacts published on the portal.

Technical requirements: two aircraft, launch profiles, and safety constraints

The request explicitly aims at two aircraft with different capacities, to cover various training scenarios:

• Aéronef type A: capacity 5–10 passengers (small groups, dedicated sessions, training).
• Aéronef type B: capacity 11–18 passengers (larger groups, more “intensive” training cycles).

Compliance requirements:

• the aircraft must be authorized to operate on national territory;
• they must have valid registration and airworthiness certificates.

Required operations (flight/employment profiles):

• execution of SOCR jumps (sauts à ouverture commandée retardée, delayed controlled opening) and SOGH / SOCR at high altitude for training and specialization activities;
• sessions dedicated to maintaining skills and qualification of airborne troops personnel (TAP).

Logistical/area aspects:

• the possibility of jumps in the reference landing zone is foreseen and, occasionally, also outside this zone, but only under specific conditions.

Safety constraints (specified in the summaries):

• no ammunition and no dangerous goods on board;
• ability to ensure the required profiles in compliance with aeronautical regulations and airworthiness certificates.

What PFAT asks to detail (economic part and “hidden costs”):

• hourly rates for aircraft distinguishing weekdays vs weekends/nights/holidays;
• any additional costs: maintenance, fuel, usage fees, crew support and rotation, logistics.

Why in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques: Pau and Bayonne (ETAP and 1er RPIMa)

The department of Pyrénées-Atlantiques is a crucial point of the airborne component because:

• in the Pau area there is the École des troupes aéroportées (ETAP), indicated by the French Ministry of Defense as located at camp “Aspirant Zirnheld” (northwest of Pau) and a reference for the training pipeline of airborne troops.
• in Bayonne is stationed the 1er RPIMa, and the same official recruitment page of the Armée de Terre places the regiment in the Citadelle général Bergé.

In practice, renting civil capabilities “as a package” (aircraft + crew + services) allows supporting courses, qualifications, and maintenance without being entirely dependent on the availability of military carriers.

Finally, it is not an absolute first time: MINARM procurement archive results indicate that in 2021 a procedure related to the rental of a certified aircraft with crew in the department 64 (Pyrénées-Atlantiques) was notified, a sign that the civil market lever has already been used in the past for similar needs.