French Navy flight ops in Curaçao
The French Navy has made the ABC island area its temporary home for a few weeks.
The detachment from the Marine Nationale consists of a Falcon 50M (serial 132) from Flotille 24F in Lann-Bihoué and the Floréal-class frigate FS GERMINAL with its embarked AS565 Panther helicopter (serial 506) from Flotille 36F in Hyères. FS GERMINAL is normally based in Fort-de-France, Martinique, and was recently seen during a port visit to Bonaire.
The Falcon 50M operated daily from the Dutch Caribbean Coast Guard facility, while the Panther only made rare appearances, returning to FS GERMINAL each time.
(Click on an image to enlarge)
