THIS is the moment an EasyJet passenger caught a “Rafale” fighter jet on video fly right past the window at supersonic speed.
The sighting comes amid heightened tensions in the Olympic host after sabotage on the rail network by extreme leftists and threats from Vladimir Putin.
8
8
8
Flyer silent.sagacity shared the mid-flight clip to TikTok on July 19 saying they caught the footage over Nice, southern France.
A French Air Force source said the plane might have been one of the Rafale jets being used to police the Paris 2024 Olympics.
Rafale – which means ‘gust of wind’ – is a £100million twin-engined multirole fighter aircraft built by the French company Dassault.
The nuclear warhead-capable fighter can reach speeds of Mach 1.8, or 1,400mph.
Commercial passenger just normally fly at around 500mph.
Shown the image taken from the Easyjet flight, the Air Force source said: “Nobody would be able to discuss plane movements, for operational reasons. It could be a Rafale.”
Asked if the aircraft might be a Stealth Bomber, the source said: “Probably not”.
However, commenters on the TikTok clip conclusively thought the jet was instead a Lockheed Martin F-35.
France does not operate any of those jets, but they are operated by NATO allies including the US, UK, and Italy.
One said: “F35 showing off flying past inverted.”
Another posted: “F35 without a doubt”.
While a third joked: “England coming back from the euros.”
The sighting has emerged after a successful sabotage attack and threats from hostile countries against Paris and the Olympics.
The country’s high speed rail network was attacked by leftists leaving the France paralysed over the weekend by the wave of hits.
8
8
8
A series of fires “coordinated” and “planned” at three points around the country cancelled the plans of hundreds of thousands of people.
Russian trolls also threatened the Olympics with a fake Hamas fighter holding a fake severed head.
The fraudsters say in dodgy Arabic: “Rivers of blood will flow through the streets of Paris. The day is approaching, God willing.”
He then raises a bloodied, severed head – too disturbing to show – while exclaiming “Allah is the greatest!”
But experts at the Microsoft Threat Analysis Centre revealed the clip was a fake made by trolls.
An alleged Russian spy was also arrested over a threat to the Paris Olympics opening ceremony.
Kirill Gryaznov, 40, was a former love show contestant but thought to have become an FSB asset.
He is said to have boasted about turning the start of the Paris Olympics into “an opening ceremony like no other”.
Paris is set to become the most guarded Olympicsever with over 60,000 cops, soldiers, drones, helicopters and a huge increase in AI surveillance all deployed after months of growing safety concerns.
An ‘air bubble’ has also been created across France coordinated from Avord, an aviation base south of the city.
The robust defence system will be headed up by over 45,000 police officers and a huge force of up to 18,000 soldiers.
France’s largest deployment of troops since World War Two aims to keep the 15 million visitors and 10,500 Olympic Games competitors safe.
The air bubble also includes four Airborne Warning & Control System (AWACS) aircraft focused on air policing.
They are up for up to 15 hours a day during the Olympics, thanks to in-flight refuelling.
EasyJet has been approached for comment.
Rafale factfile
The Dassault Rafale is a French-made fighter used by their armed-forces, the Egyptian Air Force and the Indian Air Force.
It entered into service in 2001 after being developed in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s.
There have been 259 built so far, with the aircraft expected to be the French Air Force’s main combat weapon until at least 2040.
The plane has a high level of agility and can incredibly fly without stalling at 17mph.
Dassault Aviation is currently building a Future Combat Air System (FCAS), which includes New Generation Fighters (NGF) which resemble Stealth bombers.
An official test flight of a NGF demonstrator is expected around 2027, and entry into service will begin around 2045.
8
8
Discussion about this post