The "Patrouille de France" (Patrol of France) is a French Air Force aerobatic team and includes a commander (who commands but does not fly) and nine pilots. One of these nine pilots is the fligt leader (who leads the formation in the air but is not necessarily the pilot with the longest experience at the team. This makes the French aerobatic team unique because, in the most of the other aerobatic teams in the world, the leader is always the pilot with the longest experience on the team. The team also includes two solos (numbers "7" and "8") plus one reserve pilot (who typically has the longest experience on the team but who flies only when it is absolutely necessary to replace one of the existing team pilots). All pilots use the callsign "Atos". The team is supported by 30 ground crew, who are responsible for good working order of the aircraft.
The team has nine Alpha Jet airplanes, one of which is a spare and carries the number "0". The aircraft of Patrouille de France differ from standard trainers by their coloring (a white, blue and red color scheme) and by the smoke generator on the bottom of the fuselage between two engines which releases white, blue and red smoke. The team does not have a dedicated cargo aircraft.
The aerobatic demonstrations of the "Patrouille de France" typically last only 20 minutes which is less than some of the other aerobatic teams in the world.
Patrouille de France does not have its own cargo plane.
