Major General Franck Mollard was born in Le Mans, France, on 7 March 1970.

He graduated from Sup’Aéro in Toulouse in 1992 and decided to join the French Air Force as a cadet at the Air Force Academy. After qualifying as a fighter pilot in 1995, he was assigned to Fighter Squadron 1/5 “Vendée” on Mirage 2000 aircraft. He subsequently accumulated 2,600 flight hours, including more than 2,000 on the Mirage 2000, and flew more than 30 combat missions.

He then held his first staff position at French Air Force Headquarters in Paris before attending the War College in 2005. From 2006 to 2009, he served first as deputy commander and then commander of Fighter Squadron 1/2 “Cigognes” flying the Mirage 2000-5 at Dijon Air Base.

From 2009 to 2011, he headed the combat engagement section within the Plans Office at French Air Force Headquarters in Paris. He was then posted to Kuwait for three years as Air Adviser to the Commander of the Kuwaiti Air Force, before returning to Paris to work directly with the Major General of the French Air Force.

In 2015, he was appointed Commander of Air Base 118 “Colonel Rozanoff” at Mont-de-Marsan, home to more than 3,000 airmen and around forty Rafale aircraft. He returned to Paris and served as Chief of Staff to the Secretary General of the Ministry of the Armed Forces from 2018 to 2021. Promoted to Brigadier General in 2021, he became Director of the State Aviation Safety Investigation Bureau.

In August 2023, he was promoted to Major General and appointed Commander of the European Air Transport Command in Eindhoven.

Major General Mollard is an Officer of the Legion of Honour and of the National Order of Merit, and has been awarded the Aeronautics Medal and the Combatant’s Cross. He is married and has two children.