Deterring the War: Defanging Russia
ABCD 2026
Guillaume Thomas
Deputy Commander of the Allied Air Command
Lieutenant-General Guillaume Thomas (Air Corps General) is Deputy Commander of Allied Air Command. He previously served as Chief of Staff of the Air Defence and Air Operations Command (CDAOA) in 2024–25 and, in 2024, commanded the PEGASE aerial deployment in the Indo-Pacific. Appointed general in 2021, he took command of the air operations brigade within the CDAOA, serving as air component commander for Operation Barkhane and for the NATO Response Force in 2022, and overseeing French Air and Space Force operations on Europe's eastern flank after the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the 2023 evacuation of French nationals from Sudan. He had previously spent two years heading the operational air staff and, from 2017, was the Deputy Spokesperson for the Chief of the Defence Staff, responsible for strategic communication on French operations. From 2016, he commanded deployed air bases in Jordan and Niger under Operations Inherent Resolve and Barkhane, following two years as Commander of the Training Group at the Ecole de l'Air. A graduate of the Institut d'Études Politiques d'Aix-en-Provence (2011), he served as Strategy and Communication Advisor to the Chief of Staff of the Air Force. He graduated from the War College in 2005. A transport pilot, captain, and instructor, he flew the Hercules C-130 from Air Base 123 at Orléans-Bricy and deployed to Africa, the Middle East, and the former Yugoslavia. He graduated from the École de l'Air as an aeronautical engineer in 1992. He is an Officer of the Legion of Honour, Commander of the National Order of Merit and holder of the Aeronautics Medal.
Updated: August 12, 2026