Mirage Memories at BA 115
France and spotting isn’t a combination that usually goes hand‑in‑hand. Local airfield authorities generally aren’t fond of photographers along the fence, and the majority of bases lack the vantage points found at other European military airfields. BA 115 Orange‑Caritat, however, is a welcome exception.
Located around 70 miles north of Marseille, the base is currently home to Rafales of Escadron de Chasse 1/5 Vendée and AS555 Fennecs of Escadron d'Hélicoptères 1/65 Alpilles and Centre d'Instruction des Equipages d'Hélicoptères 341. Until June 2022, it was also home to Escadron de Chasse 2/5 Île‑de‑France and their Mirage 2000Cs and Bs, which were the focus of three spotting trips in 2015, 2017 and 2021.
Thanks to BA 115’s relatively tolerant attitude toward spotters, the base was an appealing destination to capture the somewhat elusive fighters. Unusually for a French base, the perimeter fence along the northeast side offers good views of runway operations, as all infrastructure is located to the west of runway 14/32. As a result, local authorities were relatively lenient about photography from the east side—provided enthusiasts stayed back from the fence, avoided ladders, and kept well away from any base buildings (including refraining from photographing them).
As EC 2/5 was the only Mirage 2000 unit based at Orange‑Caritat, activity could be slow. A typical morning saw a wave of three or four jets launch, with the occasional late‑morning straggler heading out on a local sortie. The afternoon usually brought a similar number of departures, often using the same airframes as earlier in the day. Tuesdays were often reserved for night flying: while daytime activity could be sparse, watching Mirage 2000s hammer the circuit after dark more than made up for it. One Tuesday in 2021 was particularly frustrating - after enduring an incredibly slow day at the fence, jet noise finally echoed from the aprons as the sun dipped below the horizon, and the 2000s launched right on cue into the fading light. The frustration came when another spotter set up near me but failed to switch his camera to manual mode, causing his flash to fire as the jets departed on their night sorties. The tower reported the flashes - dangerous for pilots using night‑vision equipment - and the base authorities promptly instructed both of us to leave.
Back to the positives: another superb location at Orange is the approach to runway 32. Mont Ventoux rises to the east, providing a stunning backdrop for jets returning in the late afternoon. To get the best angles with the mountain behind, you needed to position yourself along a track leading to a crash gate near the Quick Reaction Alert shelters—a spot that could easily attract attention from the authorities if you drifted too close to the fence.
A major change came on 23 June 2022, when EC 2/5 disbanded. The Mirage 2000C retired from French Air & Space Force service, and the unit’s 2000Bs moved to BA 133 Nancy‑Ochey for continued crew conversion onto the Mirage 2000D and 2000‑5 fleets. On 18 July 2024, EC 01.005 Vendée stood up at BA 115 Orange‑Caritat with Rafale Cs and Bs which, on a personal level, don’t quite hold the same charm as the beautiful Deux‑Mille. Many happy days were spent along the BA 115 fenceline, and perhaps a few decades from now, when the Rafales reach the twilight of their careers, the base will once again become an irresistible destination for photographing French fast jets.
