The Chief of Staff of the French Air and Space Force told senators that his service needs additional Rafales well before the fighter’s next standard becomes available, and that taking more Rafale F4 jets would be preferable to waiting for the F5. The fleet target is unchanged at 225 combat aircraft by 2035, 185 for the French Air and Space Force and 40 for the French Navy. “We are overusing the Rafale,” Bellanger said. Bellanger said cooperation with willing countries could range from observing French nuclear exercises to joining training operations or accompanying nuclear raids [conventional support for nuclear operations, CSNO – ed. The French Strategic Air Forces would retain complete autonomy, he stressed, with allied aircraft acting only as additional forces.