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David Desfougères

David Desfougères

Chief of Naval Staff, French Navy

Rear Admiral David Desfougères comes from the 1994 class of the naval school. He has been a licensed fighter pilot since June 2000. He has logged nearly 3,000 hours of flight time on 10 different aircraft and participated in operations in Afghanistan, Libya, Syria and Iraq.

After the GEAOM campaign on the Jeannes d'Arc, he was assigned to the PR Durance for six months as a watchkeeping and operations officer. In September 1997, he began his pilot training course and went to Salon de Provence then Méridian in the USA where he qualified as a fighter pilot.

Back in France, after a brief assignment on an Alfa-Jet in the air force, he was assigned to Flotilla 17F on a Modernized Super-Etendard. He then participated in Operation “Enduring Freedom” off the coast of Pakistan until May 2002.

Assigned as an exchange officer on Mirage 2000 C in the air force, he joined Cambrai after a transformation in Orange. He acquired the qualification of deputy head of Air Defense patrol before returning to SEM in the summer of 2004.

Returning to the 17F flotilla, he gradually obtained all the tactical and technical qualifications for the aircraft. He participated in operations again before occupying the position of head of the flotilla operations department between 2006 and 2007.

The following year, he was assigned to the EM ALAVIA doctrine office as a hunting specialist.

Returning to Landivisiau in 2008, he held the position of CSD at Flotilla 11F for two years before taking command in June 2010. In the summer of 2011, he handed over command of the 11F which transferred to Rafale Marine to take that of the 17F then becoming the only SEM flotilla and participates in the “Harmattan” mission.

After this period of command, he joined the benches of the 20th promotion of the War School at the military school.

Returning to EM ALAVIA in the summer of 2013, he held the position of head of the aeronautical risk management office (MDRA) and boarded the aircraft carrier during MECO 2013 and the various EAEs as DIRSTAGE ALAVIA .

Assigned to the aircraft carrier “Charles de Gaulle” in the summer of 2015, he held the position of deputy operations commander. During this assignment, he participated in the “ARROMANCHES II and III” missions and worked on the preparation of major technical shutdown No. 2, in particular for its renovation component of the building's combat system.

In the first half of 2017, he joined the school of military applications of atomic energy in Cherbourg to follow training dedicated to boiler rooms and nuclear propulsion.

From June 2017 to February 2019, he commanded the frigate ACONIT (type LA FAYETTE) and participated in two operational missions off the coast of SYRIA, as well as a mission off the coast of LIBYA under European mandate.

From August 2019 to June 2020, he is an auditor of the 69th session of the Center for Advanced Military Studies and the 72nd session of the Institute of Advanced National Defense Studies.

After a year as head of the college of corresponding staff officers within the capabilities division of the Naval staff, he has been an army coherence officer – Navy (OCA-Marine) since September 2021 .

Following his two years as an army coherence officer – Navy, he was assigned as deputy chief of plans & programs to the Naval Staff as rear admiral on 08/01/ 2023.

Rear Admiral David DESFOUGERES is married and father of three children.

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