Base aérienne 709 Cognac-Châteaubernard

Base aérienne 709 de Cognac Châteaubernard (BA 709) is located in the Charente department, six kilometers south of Cognac, primarily on the territory of Châteaubernard, with part of the runways on Genté. The aerodrome is used by the air base and is also open to national commercial traffic, non-scheduled commercial traffic, and private aircraft, allowing IFR and VFR flights.

The military airfield was created in 1938. In June 1940, the French Army left the camp, and from 1940 to 1944, the Luftwaffe occupied the site, undertaking significant construction work, including two concrete runways, an aircraft dispersal network, a taxiway, and a railway connection. Starting in 1943, Allied aviation bombed the German air base, which was then evacuated, and it was partially destroyed in August 1944 by the retreating occupying forces.

Reconstruction began after the Liberation. In 1945, the base-school 705 (BE 705) was created. Following the school's departure for Morocco, the base became BA 135 in 1950. In 1951, the 33rd Reconnaissance Squadron was stationed at Cognac. From 1957 to 1961, it hosted the 92nd Bomber Squadron. On February 12, 1961, the base again welcomed an elementary pilot training school and became BA 709. In 1992, the base was named after Commander Raoul Ménard. In 2006, the air force outsourced the maintenance of its training aircraft to EADS, which created a local subsidiary, CASSIDIAN AVIATION TRAINING SERVICES. In 2009, the Drones 01.330 Adour experimentation squadron trained there, becoming the Drones 01.033 Belfort squadron on September 1, 2010. Also in 2009, the Naval Aeronautics School was established at Cognac. BA 709 also hosted the Cartouche Doré aerobatic team from 1989 until its dissolution in 2016.

Currently, the base hosts two French Air and Space Force units: the École de l'aviation de chasse 00.315 « Christian Martell », responsible for training fighter pilots and weapons system officers (NOSA), and the 33e escadre de surveillance, de reconnaissance et d'attaque (33e ESRA), which operates MALE drones and Beechcraft King Air 350 ALSR aircraft. The École de pilotage de l'Armée de l'air (EPAA 00.315) is also located on the base, where future French Air Force fighter and transport pilots receive training. The base accommodates the Escadron de drones 1/33 Belfort, which operates General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper drones. Since 2020, the base has hosted the École d’Aviation de Chasse, which relocated from Air Base 705 Tours. The base currently operates 26 Pilatus PC-21 and 16 Grob 120-AF aircraft for pilot training. The aerodrome extends over 455 hectares and includes two paved runways (2422 m x 45 m oriented 05-23, and 1814 m x 60 m oriented 08-26) and an 800 m long grass runway, along with complete aeronautical equipment for instrument flight and landing.