Lyon – Mont Verdun Air Base

45°51′00″N 4°47′00″E / 45.85000°N 4.78333°E / 45.85000; 4.78333 Lyon – Mont Verdun Air Base (Base Aérienne 942) is located to the northwest of Lyon. It is a duplicate of the headquarters of the French Air Force nuclear strike force at Taverny Air Base – BA921 near Paris, with an underground command center buried at a depth of 125 metres (410 ft) and hardened against chemical and nuclear attack.^[1]^[2]^[3]

The location includes the South Sector Operations Center of the Commandement de la Défense Aérienne et des Opérations Aériennes (CDAOA or Air Defense and Operations Command), which is connected to NATO's Air Command and Control System (ACCS).^[4] ^[5]

Other facilities

Besides the Air Force facility at Taverny, the French Navy's counterpart facility, controlling the ballistic missile submarine strike force (Force océanique stratégique – FOST), is located near Paris at Houilles, Yvelines.

References

^ "Organization générale". Base Aérienne 942 (in French). Ministry of Defense. Retrieved 9 April 2013.
^ Arkin, William M. (1985). Nuclear Battlefields: Global Links in the Arms Race. Institute for Policy Studies. p. 285. ISBN 0-88730-002-2. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
^ Norris, Robert S. Nuclear Weapons Databook Volume V: British, French, and Chinese Nuclear Weapons. Westview Press. p. 236. ISBN 0-8133-1612-X. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
^ "Les missions de la Base aérienne" (in French). Ministry of Defense. Retrieved 9 April 2013.
^ Young, Thomas-Durrell, ed. (1997). Command in NATO After the Cold War: Alliance, National and Multinational. Strategic Studies Institute, U.S. Army War College. p. 116.