Momentum for a united Europe built rapidly after the UK adopted the Euro.  But what really caused European unity to pick up steam was the threat of a near-total cut off of all Middle East oil during the Arab-Israeli war of 2006.  Senior European leaders became quite concerned after the President of the United States initially refused to intervene in the conflict; the Israelis had brilliantly turned back an invasion attempt and were now marching throughout Syria, Jordan, and Egypt.  Amman and Damascus had fallen and Israeli troops were at the outskirts of Cairo.  The Arab world, along with its new “ally” Iran, threatened to cut off all oil supplies to the West and Japan – as well as unspecified “offensive measures”, punctuated by an Iranian nuclear test - if they did not get the Israelis to halt the offensive and give back the land they had taken.  Events, in the form of democratic revolutions by fed-up ordinary people that overthrew monarchies or dictatorships in Saudi Arabia, Iran, and elsewhere, as well as a deterioration of Israeli supply lines and manpower, ultimately brought about a cease-fire and tense negotiations that continue to this day.  The leading countries of Europe decided that European unity was needed to get them the leverage they needed to influence world events in Europe’s favor – i.e. keeping the oil flowing to Western Europe’s economies and countering Washington’s or Beijing’s influence in certain areas.  

So in January 2008, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Ireland, Italy, Austria, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Iceland, the Czech Republic, Greece, Poland, Hungary, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Turkey, and stunningly enough, Switzerland (yes, they gave up the weakening Swiss franc in 2007) became one very large country with three official languages and five “regional” languages (used for official correspondence in selected regions), a population of 400 million, a land mass larger than the United States and with good natural resources in some parts, a strategic location near the Middle East and the North Atlantic, the world’s strongest currency, a space program that was starting to build up an independent manned spaceflight and space station capability, six aircraft carriers – three of them nuclear powered – that could project power anywhere in the world with Rafale or Sea Harrier/F-35 aircraft, and a nuclear arsenal made up of British and French SSBN’s and French IRBM and ICBM’s in silos, as well as a permanent seat on the UN Security Council.  The European Union’s capital ended up being Brussels by default, and the European Parliament was moved there; it became the European lawmaking body.  The European Prime Minister became the equal of the President of the United States and the Premier of China in importance, while the individual countries that made up the European Union became states that elected their legislators to Parliament.  

Naturally, integrating the armed forces of 25 countries was a Herculean task.  Various – and sometimes conflicting – traditions (some lasting for centuries), cultures, operational methods, personalities and equipment had to be forged into one united, strong fighting force, and that was certainly not accomplished overnight.  Like their civilian counterparts in European politics and business, European military generals and admirals often spent weeks, even months, wrangling over matters major and minor, trying to get workable compromises.  Many, many toes were stepped on in the process, egos bruised, and people ranging from four-star generals to young privates vexed.  However, thanks to the emergence of some truly gifted diplomats in the British, French, German, Italian, and Spanish armed forces, along with a body of experience built up over decades as part of NATO and in cooperative projects ranging from the Tornado to the Eurofighter, lots of stubborn determination, personal sacrifice, burning the midnight oil, and quite a bit of luck, by some miracle, the whole thing was somehow made to work.  

THE RAFALE-B 

By 2011, the European Union Air Force had become a strong, highly capable air force that could undertake all kinds of missions – even strategic stealth bombing – worldwide.  The EUAF needed an equivalent to the USAF F-15E “Mudhen”.  Before 2008, the French Air Force had evaluated the Rafale B two-seater as its long range tactical strike aircraft.  The EUAF’s Rafale-B strike aircraft are armed with AS-30 long range radar-guided surface strike missiles as well as Mica self defense air to air missiles.  The EUAF also uses the Eurofighter as its main interceptor aircraft, as well as the Tornado for close air support and reconnaissance roles. 

THE MODEL

I used the Italeri Rafale-B 1/72^nd scale kit for this project.  Assembly was straightforward, but I had to make my own decals.  This was a GREAT opportunity to expand my modeling skills; I had never made my own decals before. 

MARKINGS 

The European Union Air Force uses a standard two-tone gray camouflage with Medium gray upper sides and light ghost gray undersides.  The EUAF uses a blue roundel in four positions on the wings – this roundel has the EU’s gold stars in a circle midway between the center and the edge of the roundel.  The European Union flag is in a position a third of the way up the tail.  This Rafale belonged to the French Air Force before unification, but there is no evidence of French markings.  The tail includes the aircraft’s serial number – this aircraft, number 4248, was one of a detachment of six Rafales assigned to tour the United States and Canada on a goodwill tour, and the author got a close up look while visiting Hill Air Force Base, Utah.  He also chatted with a couple of EUAF pilots (a French lady and her British backseater) who told the author about the joys and pitfalls of serving in a military force with many nationalities, tongues, and traditions.  The British WSO in particular longed for the days of the old RAF and liked the Tornado far better than the Rafale which he was transitioning to.