Two French pilots die after rafale jets collide mid-air

Two French fighter jet pilots were killed after their Rafale warplane collided with another and crashed in northeastern France, according to the French military.

The pilot of the other jet ejected and suffered minor injuries.

The two aircraft collided Wednesday during a combat manoeuvre in the Vosges region near the town of Colombey-les-Belles, the French Defence Ministry said in a statement.

The pilots who were killed were an instructor and a trainee on a training mission, it said.

Military and judicial investigations are underway into the causes of the accident.

The pilot of one Rafale was found alive soon after the crash, but it took several hours of searching by law enforcement in the wooded region to find the two pilots of the other jet.

French President Emmanuel Macron expressed his condolences in a post on social network X.

“We learn with sadness the death of Captain Sébastien Mabire and Lieutenant Matthis Laurens in an air accident in a Rafale training mission,” Macron said.

“The nation shares the grief of their families and brothers in arms at Air Base 113 in Saint-Dizier,” he added.

Accidents involving the French-made Rafale supersonic jet are very uncommon. Just two crashes — one in 2007 and another in 2009 — have occurred since its introduction in 2001.

France has ordered around 230 Rafale fighter jets, with 42 expected to be produced starting in 2027. Other operators include Greece, Croatia, Egypt, India and the UAE.