Base aérienne 116 Luxeuil-Saint Sauveur (Lieutenant-colonel Papin)

Base aérienne 116 « Lieutenant-colonel Papin » of the French Air and Space Force is located 5 kilometers south of Luxeuil-les-Bains in the Haute-Saône department. It occupies 477 hectares and features an airfield built to NATO standards. The site is one of France's oldest military airfields, with initial use dating back to 1912 with a grass runway. Combat squadrons were stationed there in 1916. Installations remained modest between World War I and World War II. During the Occupation, the site hosted a Luftwaffe pilot training school. In 1950, a major infrastructure program was launched to establish a modern NATO-standard air base, which opened in 1953.

From 1966 to 2011, the base housed nuclear weapons (AN-22, AN-52, ASMP). Nuclear deterrence capabilities are planned to return by 2032 in the form of ASN4G hypersonic missiles, carried by two Rafale squadrons. Significant modernization work is scheduled, with air activity to be suspended from 2029 for these renovations. The base currently hosts the 2e escadre de chasse, reformed on September 3, 2015, which includes the escadron de chasse 1/2 Cigognes and its Mirage 2000-5F aircraft. These units are responsible for air superiority and air policing missions, including escorting aircraft in operations and responding to suspicious civil aircraft. Since 2011, Mirage 2000-5F aircraft from BA 116 have participated in personnel rotations for French forces stationed in Djibouti. The escadron de défense sol-air 04/950 « Servance », equipped with the SAMP/T - Mamba system, was dissolved in 2014. The base's aircraft have participated in NATO's Baltic Air Policing operations and the Arctic Challenge Exercise. In February 2025, some Mirage 2000-5F aircraft from Luxeuil were delivered to Ukraine. The base is set to become France's first base equipped with ASN4G hypersonic missiles, with personnel numbers expected to nearly double by 2035.