Escadron de transport 60 (ET 60)

A white A330 with a tricolor on its tail taxis to the runway at Orly, and “COTAM Unité” checks in on the radio – for spotters, that is one of the rarest moments in French airspace. Behind France’s government aircraft stands the Escadron de transport 60 (ET 60), long known as ETEC. The squadron flies without a schedule, without flight numbers and without a booking system. This page shows you who the ET 60 is, which types belong to it, how to read callsigns and registrations and where you have realistic chances.

The ET 60 at a glance

The ET 60 is not an airline, even though it is listed here alongside Air France and Air Caraïbes. It is a transport squadron of the Armée de l’air et de l’espace, the French Air and Space Force. Its most important passengers are the president and the prime minister. Members of government, foreign delegations and Ministry of Defense personnel are added to that. A second, less visible task is medical evacuation: one Falcon is permanently on standby for it, and a second one if needed. In 2011, for example, the squadron flew dozens of wounded soldiers from Afghanistan to France.

With about 150 members (as of 2022), the ET 60 is much smaller than Germany’s Flugbereitschaft des BMVg (the German defense ministry’s air transport service). In return, the fleet is compact and strongly focused on business jets of French production – Dassault Aviation is not far away, as the manufacturer is also based in the Paris area.

From GAEL via ETEC to the ET 60

The squadron’s history is a history of mergers and new names. If you sort old spotter photos, you therefore come across several designations for almost the same unit:

• 1945 – GAEL: The Groupe aérien d’entraînement et de liaison is formed in summer 1945 at what is now Paris Le Bourget Airport and soon moves to Villacoublay. In parallel, the GLAM (Groupe de liaisons aériennes ministérielles), the actual government squadron, has been flying there since March 1945.
• 1969 to 1984: The GAEL is split up several times – into units for liaison flights, training and calibration of navigation equipment.
• 1991 – ETEC 00.065: The units are merged again and are now called Escadron de transport, d’entraînement et de calibration. In everyday use, people still spoke of the GAEL.
• 1995 – end of the GLAM: Shortly after President Jacques Chirac took office, the GLAM is dissolved in July 1995, officially to cut the presidential office’s spending. Its aircraft go to the ETEC, its helicopters to helicopter squadron 3/67 “Parisis”.
• 2007: Calibration flights with Mystère-Falcon 20s end; a unit of its own takes over this task.
• Today – ET 60: The squadron operates as Escadron de transport 60. In June 2025 it celebrated its 80th anniversary and sealed a partnership with No. 32 Squadron of the Royal Air Force, which has similar tasks in Great Britain.

For you as a spotter, that means: a photo labeled “ETEC” or “GAEL” usually shows the same squadron as one labeled “ET 60” – the registration is what counts.

Reading callsigns and registrations

With an airline, you look at the flight number and registration. With the ET 60, it works differently:

• No IATA code: There are no tickets, so no two-letter airline code either.
• Callsign COTAM: The flights check in with COTAM and a four-digit number. The name goes back to the Air Force’s former transport command.
• COTAM 0001 – “Cotam Unité”: This number is reserved for the president, regardless of whether he is in the A330, a Falcon or a helicopter.
• COTAM 0002: reserved for the prime minister. The Élysée assigns the other numbers according to its own protocol.
• Registration F-RAxx: Instead of civilian registrations like F-GZNA, the aircraft carry military registrations beginning with F-R.

The logic of the F-R registrations helps you sort: F-RARF is the A330, F-RAFA and F-RAFB are the two Falcon 7X, F-RAFP one of the Falcon 900s. How registrations are structured in general is explained in the article Understanding aircraft registrations.

Registration	Type	Role
F-RARF	Airbus A330-200	Presidential aircraft for long-haul and large delegations
F-RAFA, F-RAFB	Dassault Falcon 7X	President and prime minister, backup for the A330
F-RAFP and others	Dassault Falcon 900	Government flights, being replaced by Falcon 8X
two aircraft	Dassault Falcon 2000LX	Government, delegations, medevac
three aircraft	Aérospatiale Super Puma (VIP)	Helicopter transfers in the Paris area

The fleet: from the Super Puma to the A330

The ET 60’s fleet is small enough that you could theoretically tick it off completely. In practice, you need a lot of patience and some willingness to travel.

Airbus A330-200 F-RARF – the “Cotam Unité”

The flagship is a single Airbus A330-200. It previously flew for Air Caraïbes and carried the registrations F-OPTP and F-GRTP, among others, then F-ZWUG during the test phase. France bought it second-hand; the cabin fit-out was carried out by the company Plus 33 in Blagnac near Toulouse. According to published figures, the total project cost about 176 million euros, of which roughly 60 million for the purchase and a good 90 million for the conversion.

The A330 flew its first mission on November 11, 2010, when President Nicolas Sarkozy traveled to the G20 summit in Seoul. In the press it was quickly dubbed “Air Sarko One”, later “Air Hollande One”. On board are a private suite for the president, an office and lounge area, a conference room for twelve people, a communications room, a small medical station and a cabin for up to 60 accompanying persons. In 2016, the aircraft received an infrared protection system against guided missiles in Mérignac.

Important for your planning: the runway at Villacoublay is only a good 1,800 meters long. The A330 is therefore stationed at the Air Force base Évreux-Fauville in Normandy. The president usually boards at Paris Orly Airport.

If you want to tell the A330 and A340 apart at a distance, the article A330 or A340? helps.

Dassault Falcon 7X – the presidential Falcons

The two Dassault Falcon 7Xs with the registrations F-RAFA and F-RAFB arrived in July 2009 and May 2010. They replaced older Falcon 900s and fly both the president and the prime minister. At the same time they are the backup if the A330 is unavailable. In 2009, the French press jokingly christened the first Falcon 7X “Carla One” – an allusion to Carla Bruni-Sarkozy and Air Force One.

The 7X is a three-engine jet with electronic flight controls, one of the first business jets with fly-by-wire. The three engines at the tail make it easy to recognize.

Falcon 2000LX and Falcon 900 – the workhorses

Two Falcon 2000LXs joined the fleet in 2011 and 2012. As twinjets, they are easy to tell apart from the three-engine Falcons. They fly mainly members of government and smaller delegations.

The two Falcon 900s date from 1987 and 1990 and are thus the squadron’s oldest jets. Their days are numbered: in 2026, the French business press reported that the Air Force is leasing two Dassault Falcon 8Xs indefinitely to replace the Falcon 900s. When exactly the 900s will be retired is open – if you still need them in your hangar, you should not wait too long.

The Falcon 900, 7X and 8X look similar at first glance because all three are three-engine jets. Tips on telling them apart are in the article Telling business jet types apart.

Super Puma VIP – the helicopters

Three Super Pumas in VIP configuration round out the fleet. They have been in service since 1984 and came to the ET 60 around 2005 from helicopter squadron 3/67 “Parisis”. Technically, they belong to the family from which today’s Airbus H215 from Airbus Helicopters developed.

Retired: the A319CJ, DC-8 and the old Falcons

In archive photos you come across types you no longer see at the ET 60 today:

• Airbus A319 CJ: Two corporate jets with the registrations F-RBFA and F-RBFB flew for the president from 2002. After the A330 arrived, they were sold in 2011; F-RBFB went to Senegal, F-RBFA to a buyer in Singapore.
• Douglas DC-8: For long trips, the GLAM used DC-8s, among others.
• Falcon 50: Three Falcon 50s came from the GLAM in 1995; the last left the squadron in 2013.
• Falcon 20: Mystère-Falcon 20s flew liaison and calibration flights from 1972, the last until 2007.
• Early types such as the Nord 262, MS.760 Paris, MH 1521 Broussard, Twin Otter and the GLAM’s Sud Aviation Caravelle belong to the older history.

A curiosity on the side: under François Mitterrand, the president often traveled long distances on the Concorde – operated by Air France, not by the squadron. More in the history of the Concorde.

Do not confuse: the Daher TBMs at Villacoublay now belong to Escadron de transport 41 “Verdun”, not to the ET 60. And the A330 MRTT tankers look similar to the presidential A330, but are gray military transports of a different unit.

How to recognize French government aircraft

The government fleet wears a clear design: white fuselage, “République Française” titles and the tricolor on the tail. On the A330, the presidential coat of arms also sits at the door – it was the first French presidential aircraft with this detail.

Spotting the ET 60

The ET 60’s flights appear in no schedule. Your chances depend on where you are standing and what is happening politically.

Villacoublay is the home base, but lies on the territory of Vélizy-Villacoublay, Jouy-en-Josas and Bièvres and is a purely military airfield with no visitor area. Photos of the grounds are not a good idea – more in the article Photographing military airfields.

Paris Orly is the most important place for the A330 because the president usually boards here. You can see takeoffs and landings from public areas around the airport; the parking positions themselves are closed off on such occasions.

Paris Le Bourget is the capital’s big business jet airport. Falcons of all kinds turn up here, and during the Paris Air Show a state visit is not unusual. A visit to the Musée de l’Air et de l’Espace is worthwhile anyway – a piece of French aviation history that also shaped the government squadron stands there.

Summits and state visits bring the ET 60 to airports all over Europe. If you spot in Berlin, Brussels or Vienna, keep an eye on the news when a meeting with French participation is coming up.

If you are in Paris anyway, combine the trip with a day at the big airport – the plane spotting guide for Paris CDG shows you the best places at Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport. For the right light, the article Planning the sun position helps.

Common mix-ups

• Thinking the ET 60 is an airline – it is an Air Force squadron with no ticket sales and no IATA code.
• Thinking “Cotam Unité” is an aircraft – it is the president’s callsign, no matter which aircraft he is sitting in.
• Confusing the A330 MRTT with F-RARF – the tanker is gray, the presidential A330 white with a tricolor.
• Equating the Falcon 7X, 8X and 900 – all have three engines but differ in length and details.
• Assigning the TBMs to the ET 60 – they fly at Villacoublay for the ET 41.
• Still looking for the old A319CJs – they were sold in 2011 and now fly for other operators.

Conclusion

The Escadron de transport 60 is France’s most exclusive fleet: a single A330, a handful of Falcons and three Super Pumas, with no schedule on top. If you know the callsigns COTAM 0001 and 0002, can read F-R registrations and keep Orly, Le Bourget and the news in view, you turn chance encounters into a plannable hunt. And with the switch from the Falcon 900 to the Falcon 8X, a close look at the fleet is especially worthwhile right now.