戦闘機同士が空中衝突、２人死亡 仏北東部

【コロンベレベル（フランス）ＡＦＰ＝時事】フランスのエマニュエル・マクロン大統領は１４日、同国北東部で２機のラファール戦闘機が空中衝突し、片方に搭乗していた操縦士ら２人が死亡したと発表した。先進技術を搭載した軍用機同士の衝突事故は異例。（写真は仏空軍のラファール戦闘機。西部ブレスト沖で〈資料写真〉）
　事故は同日、北東部コロンベレベルで起きた。地元当局者はＡＦＰに「１２時３０分（日本時間１９時３０分）ごろに大きな音が聞こえた」と語った。航空機が音速の壁を越える時に発生する衝撃音「ソニックブーム」とは異なる「打撃音」のような音だったという。
　衝突後、１機目の操縦士は脱出し無事だったが、もう１機を操縦していた訓練生と教官の行方が分からなくなり、当局が捜索していた。
　マクロン氏はＸ（旧ツイッター）に、ラファールでの訓練中に２人が死亡したと投稿。「国家として、遺族およびサンディジエ第１１３空軍基地の同僚と悲しみを共有する」と書き込んだ。
　ラファールは索敵や地上・水上目標の攻撃などに使用されるほか、核兵器も搭載できる「多目的戦闘機」で、仏兵器産業の「ベストセラー」となっている。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2024/08/15-17:48）

Two French pilots died on Wednesday after their Rafale jets collided in mid-air in eastern France, President Emmanuel Macron said, in a rare accident involving the cutting-edge military aircraft.
One pilot ejected following the crash over northeastern France, but authorities had launched a desperate search for a missing instructor and a student pilot on the second jet.
We learn with sadness the death of Captain Sebastien Mabire and Lieutenant Matthis Laurens in an air accident in a Rafale training mission, Macron posted on X, formerly Twitter.
The nation shares the grief of their families and brothers in arms at Air Base 113 in Saint-Dizier in eastern France, he added.
One of the pilots was found safe and sound, Defence Minister Sebastien Lecornu said earlier on X.
It was not immediately clear what caused the collision that authorities said occurred over Colombey-les-Belles, a town in northeastern France.
The military authorities will report on the causes of the accident, said the local prefecture.
The supersonic Rafale multi-role fighter -- 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.
- 'Strange noise' -
We heard a loud noise, around 12:30pm (1030 GMT), Patrice Bonneaux, deputy mayor of Colombey-les-Belles, told AFP.
It was not the usual sonic boom of a fighter jet breaking the sound barrier, he said. It was a strange noise, a percussive sound.
I assumed that two planes had collided, but we didn't believe it, he said, adding that a road bordering a nearby forest had been cordoned off.
In December 2007, a Rafale jet crashed near Neuvic in southwestern France. Investigators concluded that the pilot had become disorientated.
That was believed to be the first crash of a Rafale.
In September 2009, two Rafale aircraft went down as they flew 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 United Arab Emirates.
Lecornu said in January 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 went into service.
Macron has urged defence manufacturers to boost production and innovation as Europe seeks to increase arms supplies to buttress Ukraine, which has been struggling to fight off Russia's invasion, now in its third year.
dsa-dla-apz-as/imm/giv