SPACE SYMPOSIUM SPEAKERS

Lt. Gen. Guillaume Thomas

Deputy Commander
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Allied Air Command

Lieutenant-General Guillaume THOMAS was born in Aire-sur-l’Adour. After preparatory

studies at the Ecole des Pupilles de l’air de Montbonnot, he joined the Ecole de l’air (French Air Force Academy), from which he graduated as an aeronautical engineer in 1992. Qualified as a transport pilot, he was assigned in 1993 to Air Base 123 in Orléans-Bricy, where he began his operational career as a pilot on the Hercules C130. Qualified as a captain and instructor, he participated in numerous overseas deployments, notably engaging in many external operations in Africa, the Middle East, and former Yugoslavia.

After a first period at the air force headquarters within the organization of human resources office, he successfully passed the examination for the War College, from which he graduated in Paris in 2005. From 2005 to 2011, he was assigned to Salon-de-Provence, where he held various command and staff positions responsible for the initial training of Air Force officers.

Graduated from the Institut d’Études Politiques d’Aix-en-Provence in 2011, he joined the office of the Chief of Staff of the Air Force as a strategy and communication advisor. From 2014 to 2016, he was assigned as commander of the training group at the Ecole de l’Air. From 2016 onwards, he held numerous responsibilities in the field of air operations, commanding deployed air bases in Jordan and Niger as part of the Inherent Resolve and Barkhane operations. In 2017, he joined the office of the Chief of the Defence Staff as deputy spokesperson in charge of the strategic communication of the operations of the French armed forces.

After two years at the head of the operational air staff, he was appointed general in 2021 and took command of the air operations brigade within the air defense and air operations command (CDAOA). In this capacity, he served as the commander of the air component of Operation Barkhane and that of the NATO Response Force in 2022. In his role, he is also responsible for numerous conventional air operations conducted by the French Air and Space Force, such as those carried out on the eastern flank of Europe following the Russian invasion of Ukraine or those related to the evacuation of French nationals from Sudan in 2023. In 2024, he commands the aerial deployment PEGASE in the Indo-Pacific region. From September 2024 to September 2025, he holds the position of Chief of Staff of the CDAOA (Air Defence and Air Operations Command).

General THOMAS is an officer of the Legion of Honor, commander of the National Order of Merit, and holder of the Aeronautics Medal. He has logged over 4,400 flight hours and 116 combat missions. He is married and has two children.

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Space Ops Theater Perspective

Wednesday, April 15, 2026

2:40 pm - 3:20 pm

Track: