From early February 2026, and for the second consecutive year, Base aérienne 126 Solenzara (Air Base 126 Solenzara) hosted a Royal Air Force training detachment. The British deployment of eight Hawk T2 aircraft relocated to the island of Corsica in search of better weather conditions, as part of the joint training exercise Freedom Hawk.
This year’s edition of Exercise Freedom Hawk was scheduled to take place from 10 February to 4 March 2026, with active flying training set to occur between 17 February and 2 March.
Almost one hundred British airmen, including thirty-two pilots and eight Hawk T2 jets from Nos. IV (Army Cooperation) and XXV (Fighter) Squadrons, left their home station at RAF Valley and deployed to Corsica for a two-week training period. It marked the second consecutive year that the RAF training detachment had relocated to the French island in search of improved meteorological conditions, thereby reducing the time required for student pilots to complete their flying syllabus.
There is little doubt that, at this time of year, the Corsican airspace offers significantly more favourable flying conditions than those available at their home base on the Isle of Anglesey in North Wales. Moreover, the Mediterranean coastline provides an ideal environment for operational preparation, encompassing several training areas suited to medium- and low-altitude flying profiles.
During the first ten days of the exercise, the British aircraft flew approximately forty sorties over both maritime areas and the Corsican mountains. As emphasised in the official press release, the intensive training programme associated with Exercise Freedom Hawk focused developing flying proficiency and on close coordination between aircrew, ground crew, contracted engineering personnel and support staff. The training scenarios were designed to replicate real operational conditions as closely as possible.
Bilateral Franco-British defence cooperation is underpinned by the Lancaster House Treaties, signed on 2 November 2010 by David Cameron and Nicolas Sarkozy. The agreements established a framework for equipment sharing, joint training, industrial collaboration and the creation of a Combined Joint Expeditionary Force, designed to carry out high-intensity military operations.
Information from the press releases of the French Ministry of Defence – published on the MoD page in February 2026 – were used, in accordance to the etalab-2.0 licence.
