French Aircraft Carrier Charles De Gaulle
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''Charles de Gaulle'' is the
flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically the fi ...
of the
French Navy The French Navy (french: Marine nationale, lit=National Navy), informally , is the maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the five military service branches of France. It is among the largest and most powerful naval forces in t ...
. The ship, commissioned in 2001, is the tenth French
aircraft carrier An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and facilities for carrying, arming, deploying, and recovering aircraft. Typically, it is the capital ship of a fleet, as it allows a ...
, the first French
nuclear-powered Nuclear power is the use of nuclear reactions to produce electricity. Nuclear power can be obtained from nuclear fission, nuclear decay and nuclear fusion reactions. Presently, the vast majority of electricity from nuclear power is produced b ...
surface vessel, and the only nuclear-powered carrier completed outside of the
United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
. She is named after French president and general
Charles de Gaulle Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (; ; (commonly abbreviated as CDG) 22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French army officer and statesman who led Free France against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Government ...
. The ship carries a complement of
Dassault Rafale The Dassault Rafale (, literally meaning "gust of wind", and "burst of fire" in a more military sense) is a French twin-engine, canard delta wing, multirole fighter aircraft designed and built by Dassault Aviation. Equipped with a wide ran ...
 M and
E-2C Hawkeye The Northrop Grumman E-2 Hawkeye is an American all-weather, carrier-based aircraft, carrier-capable tactical Airborne early warning and control, airborne early warning (AEW) aircraft. This twin-turboprop aircraft was designed and developed duri ...
aircraft, AS365F Dauphin Pedro, EC725 Caracal and AS532 Cougar helicopters for
combat search and rescue Combat search and rescue (CSAR) are search and rescue operations that are carried out during war that are within or near combat zones. A CSAR mission may be carried out by a task force of helicopters, ground-attack aircraft, aerial refuelin ...
, as well as modern electronics and
Aster Aster or ASTER may refer to: Biology * ''Aster'' (genus), a genus of flowering plants ** List of ''Aster'' synonyms, other genera formerly included in ''Aster'' and still called asters in English * Aster (cell biology), a cellular structure shap ...
missiles. She is a
CATOBAR CATOBAR ("Catapult Assisted Take-Off But Arrested Recovery" or "Catapult Assisted Take-Off Barrier Arrested Recovery") is a system used for the launch and recovery of aircraft from the deck of an aircraft carrier. Under this technique, aircraft ...
-type carrier that uses two 75 m C13‑3 steam catapults of a shorter version of the catapult system installed on the US aircraft carriers, one catapult at the bow and one across the front of the landing area. As of July 2021, ''Charles de Gaulle'' is the only non-American carrier-vessel that has a catapult launch system, which has allowed for operation of
F/A-18E/F Super Hornet The Boeing F/A-18E and F/A-18F Super Hornet are twin-engine, carrier-capable, multirole fighter aircraft variants based on the McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet. The F/A-18E single-seat and F/A-18F tandem-seat variants are larger and more ad ...
s and
C-2 Greyhound The Grumman C-2 Greyhound is a twin-engine, high-wing cargo aircraft designed to carry supplies, mail, and passengers to and from aircraft carriers of the United States Navy. Its primary mission is carrier onboard delivery (COD). The aircraft p ...
s of the US Navy.


Development


Construction

The carrier replaced , a conventionally powered aircraft carrier, in 2001. and ''Foch'' were completed in 1961 and 1963 respectively; the requirement for a replacement was identified in the mid-1970s. The hull was laid down in April 1989 at the DCNS
Brest Brest may refer to: Places *Brest, Belarus **Brest Region **Brest Airport **Brest Fortress * Brest, Kyustendil Province, Bulgaria * Břest, Czech Republic *Brest, France ** Arrondissement of Brest **Brest Bretagne Airport ** Château de Brest *Br ...
naval shipyard. The carrier was launched in May 1994 and at 42,000 tonnes (full load) was the largest warship launched in Western Europe since in 1950. She was to be named ''Richelieu'' in 1986 by the French president at the time,
François Mitterrand François Marie Adrien Maurice Mitterrand (26 October 19168 January 1996) was President of France, serving under that position from 1981 to 1995, the longest time in office in the history of France. As First Secretary of the Socialist Party, he ...
, after the famous French statesman
Armand-Jean du Plessis, Cardinal Richelieu Armand Jean du Plessis, Duke of Richelieu (; 9 September 1585 – 4 December 1642), known as Cardinal Richelieu, was a French clergyman and statesman. He was also known as ''l'Éminence rouge'', or "the Red Eminence", a term derived from the ...
.Following the traditional name ''Richelieu'' for capital ships in the French Navy, previously the battleship of the Second World War. On 18 May 1987, however, the name of the ship was changed to ''Charles de Gaulle'' by the
Gaullist Gaullism (french: link=no, Gaullisme) is a French political stance based on the thought and action of World War II French Resistance leader Charles de Gaulle, who would become the founding President of the Fifth French Republic. De Gaulle withd ...
Prime Minister at the time,
Jacques Chirac Jacques René Chirac (, , ; 29 November 193226 September 2019) was a French politician who served as President of France from 1995 to 2007. Chirac was previously Prime Minister of France from 1974 to 1976 and from 1986 to 1988, as well as Ma ...
. Construction quickly fell behind schedule as the project was starved of funding, which was worsened by the economic recession in the early 1990s. Total costs for the vessel would top €3 billion. Work on the ship was suspended altogether on four occasions: 1990, 1991, 1993, and 1995. The ship was commissioned on 18 May 2001, five years behind the projected deadline. In 1993, it was alleged by ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' that a group of engineers inspecting the vessel during her construction were British
Secret Intelligence Service The Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), commonly known as MI6 ( Military Intelligence, Section 6), is the foreign intelligence service of the United Kingdom, tasked mainly with the covert overseas collection and analysis of human intelligenc ...
(MI6) operatives, believed to have been learning the method of shielding the nuclear reactors, amongst other technical details. However, the newspaper published a denial by both the British government and the ''
Direction de la surveillance du territoire The Direction de la Surveillance du Territoire (DST; en, Directorate of Territorial Surveillance) was a directorate of the French National Police operating as a domestic intelligence agency. It was responsible for counterespionage, counterterr ...
'' (DST) (in English: ''Directorate of Territorial Surveillance'') that there had been any incident.


Trials and technical problems

''Charles de Gaulle'' entered sea trials in 1999. These identified the need to extend the flight deck to safely operate the E-2C Hawkeye. This operation sparked negative publicity, however, as the same tests had been conducted on both ''Foch'' and ''Clemenceau'' when the F-8E (FN) Crusader fighter had been introduced. The 5 million francs for the extension was 0.025% of the total budget for the ''Charles de Gaulle'' project. On 28 February 2000, a nuclear reactor trial triggered the combustion of additional isolation elements, producing a smoke incident. The ship left
Toulon Toulon (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Tolon , , ) is a city on the French Riviera and a large port on the Mediterranean coast, with a major naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, and the Provence province, Toulon is th ...
for her fourteenth and final sea trial on 24 October 2000. During the night of 9–10 November, in the Western Atlantic while en route toward
Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...
,
Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
, the
port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ham ...
propeller broke, and the ship had to return to Toulon to have a replacement fitted. The investigations that followed showed similar structural faults in the other propeller and in the spare propellers: bubbles in the one-piece copper-
aluminium alloy An aluminium alloy (or aluminum alloy; see spelling differences) is an alloy in which aluminium (Al) is the predominant metal. The typical alloying elements are copper, magnesium, manganese, silicon, tin, nickel and zinc. There are two principal ...
propellers near the centre. Although the supplier, Atlantic Industrie, was not believed to have intentionally been at fault, it was nevertheless blamed for poor-quality construction. Not long after the French defense minister ordered an investigation on quality management, a fire destroyed the archives of the supplier. As a temporary solution, the less advanced spare propellers of ''Clemenceau'' were used, limiting the maximum speed to 25 knots (44 km/h) instead of the contractual 27 knots (50 km/h). On 5 March 2001, ''Charles de Gaulle'' returned to sea with the ex-''Clemenceau'' propellers and reached 25.2 knots (47 km/h) on her trials. On 16 September 2001 the French press reported slightly higher than acceptable radioactivity levels aboard ''Charles de Gaulle'', thought to be caused by a faulty isolation element. It was later discovered that the radioactivity levels matched the design, but that the regulations concerning acceptable radioactivity levels had changed. While the United States was preparing its response to the
September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercia ...
in the form of
Operation Enduring Freedom Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) was the official name used synonymously by the U.S. government for both the War in Afghanistan (2001–2014) and the larger-scale Global War on Terrorism. On 7 October 2001, in response to the September 11 at ...
, French media complained about the lack of deployable French military power. At the same time, the Defence Commission reported the maintenance of the Fleet to be substandard. In this context, ''Charles de Gaulle'', then under repairs, was again an object of criticism, with former President
Valéry Giscard d'Estaing Valéry René Marie Georges Giscard d'Estaing (, , ; 2 February 19262 December 2020), also known as Giscard or VGE, was a French politician who served as President of France from 1974 to 1981. After serving as Minister of Finance under prime ...
describing it as a "half-aircraft-carrier" and requesting the launching of the second carrier vessel (named PA2) to guarantee an availability rate of 100%.


Maintenance and upgrades

''Charles de Gaulle'' first major
overhaul Overhaul may refer to: *The process of overhauling, see ** Maintenance, repair, and overhaul **Refueling and overhaul (eg. nuclear-powered ships) **Time between overhaul * Overhaul (firefighting), the process of searching for hidden fire extensio ...
began in September 2007. The highlight of this 15-month refit was the refueling of the nuclear power plant, a necessary step after six years in service, during which ''Charles de Gaulle'' sailed the equivalent of 12 times around the world, spent 900 days at sea, and performed 19,000 catapult launches. Several improvements were also made, including the installation of new propellers. These allow ''Charles de Gaulle'' to reach her design speed of , replacing the vintage propellers used as a stop-gap since 2001. Aircraft maintenance and weapons stores were also upgraded to allow the operation of new
Rafale The Dassault Rafale (, literally meaning "gust of wind", and "burst of fire" in a more military sense) is a French twin-engine, canard delta wing, multirole fighter aircraft designed and built by Dassault Aviation. Equipped with a wide ran ...
F3 fighters armed with ASMP-A nuclear missiles and
SCALP EG Storm Shadow is an Anglo-French low-observable, long-range, air-launched cruise missile developed since 1994 by Matra and British Aerospace, and now manufactured by MBDA. Storm Shadow is the weapon's British appellation. In French service, it is ...
cruise missiles, and satellite communications bandwidth will be increased tenfold. This refit increased displacement to 42500 tonnes and was completed in December 2008. After technical problems in March 2009, the carrier was back in Toulon for repairs. An intensive work-up period was planned to bring ''Charles de Gaulle'' and her air group back to operational status. On 14 October 2010, a four-month cruise was cut down to a single day when the ship suffered an electrical fault in its propulsion system. The aircraft carrier underwent an 18-month midlife upgrade and refit begun in February 2017 and returned to service in September 2018. The nuclear reactor was refueled, standard maintenance was completed, and the ship's combat system was modernized, to better communicate with allies and support the Rafale fighters employed by the carrier.


Operational service

On 11 October 2001, the frigate , four AWACS aircraft and ''Charles de Gaulle'' were involved in a successful trial of the
Link 16 Link 16 is a military tactical data link network used by NATO and nations allowed by the MIDS International Program Office (IPO). Its specification is part of the family of Tactical Data Links. With Link 16, military aircraft as well as ship ...
high-bandwidth secure data network. The network allows real-time monitoring of the airspace from the South of England to the
Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ea ...
. The collected data were also transmitted in real-time to the frigate through the older MIL-STD-6011 system.


Afghanistan

On 21 November 2001, France decided to send ''Charles de Gaulle'' to the Indian Ocean in support of
Operation Enduring Freedom Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) was the official name used synonymously by the U.S. government for both the War in Afghanistan (2001–2014) and the larger-scale Global War on Terrorism. On 7 October 2001, in response to the September 11 at ...
against
Taliban The Taliban (; ps, طالبان, ṭālibān, lit=students or 'seekers'), which also refers to itself by its state (polity), state name, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a Deobandi Islamic fundamentalism, Islamic fundamentalist, m ...
-controlled
Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
.
Task Force 473 The ''Force d'action navale'' (FAN, Naval Action Force) is the 9,600-man and about 100-ship force of surface warships of the French Navy. As of 2018, it is commanded by Vice-Amiral d’Escadre Jean-Philippe Rolland. The ships are divided into s ...
, with 2,900 men under the command of Contre-Amiral François Cluzel, sailed on 1 December 2001. The task force was composed of ''Charles de Gaulle'', frigates , and , the nuclear
attack submarine An attack submarine or hunter-killer submarine is a submarine specifically designed for the purpose of attacking and sinking other submarines, surface combatants and merchant vessels. In the Soviet and Russian navies they were and are called "mul ...
, the tanker and the . Embarked air power comprised sixteen Super Étendards, one E-2C Hawkeye, two Rafale Ms and several helicopters. The Super Étendards carried out their first missions above Afghanistan on 19 December, executing reconnaissance and bombing missions, covering over 3,000 kilometres. Overall they carried out 140 missions, averaging 12 per day. Approximately 770 sorties were carried out from the carrier. On 18 February 2002, a
Helios In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, Helios (; grc, , , Sun; Homeric Greek: ) is the deity, god and personification of the Sun (Solar deity). His name is also Latinized as Helius, and he is often given the epithets Hyper ...
observation satellite spotted abnormal activities near
Gardez , settlement_type =City , image_skyline =gardez_paktya.jpg , imagesize = , image_caption =The Bala Hesar fortress in the center of Gardez City , image_flag = , flag_size = , image_sea ...
. The next day, after American Special Forces in the region confirmed these observations, ''Charles de Gaulle'' launched two reconnaissance Super Étendards. On 20 February 2002, British and US forces entered the valley and
Operation Anaconda Operation Anaconda was a military operation that took place in early March 2002 as part of the War in Afghanistan. CIA paramilitary officers, working with their allies, attempted to destroy al-Qaeda and Taliban forces. The operation took place ...
began in early March 2002. In March 2002, Super Étendards and six land-based
Mirage 2000 The Dassault Mirage 2000 is a French multirole, single-engine, fourth-generation jet fighter manufactured by Dassault Aviation. It was designed in the late 1970s as a lightweight fighter to replace the Mirage III for the French Air Force (''Arm ...
aircraft carried out airstrikes against targets claimed to be
al Qaeda Al-Qaeda (; , ) is an Islamic extremist organization composed of Salafist jihadists. Its members are mostly composed of Arabs, but also include other peoples. Al-Qaeda has mounted attacks on civilian and military targets in various countr ...
. A few targets suggested by U.S. forces were denied out of fear of hitting civilians. Nevertheless, French involvement was complimented on 11 March 2002 by US President
George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...
, who mentioned "our good ally, France, has deployed nearly one-fourth of its navy to support Operation Enduring Freedom". At this point, the French air complement had been increased to 16 Super Étendards, 6 Mirage 2000 D, 5 Rafales, and two Hawkeye AWACS. From February 2002, the air wings of ''Charles de Gaulle'' and landed on each other's decks as a means of strengthening the ties between the allies. On 2 May 2002, ''Charles de Gaulle'' arrived in Singapore for relief, and returned to
Oman Oman ( ; ar, عُمَان ' ), officially the Sultanate of Oman ( ar, سلْطنةُ عُمان ), is an Arabian country located in southwestern Asia. It is situated on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and spans the mouth of t ...
on 18 May 2002.


Indian-Pakistani crisis

In June 2002 while ''Charles de Gaulle'' was in the
Arabian Sea The Arabian Sea ( ar, اَلْبَحرْ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Bahr al-ˁArabī) is a region of the northern Indian Ocean bounded on the north by Pakistan, Iran and the Gulf of Oman, on the west by the Gulf of Aden, Guardafui Channel ...
, armed Rafale fighters conducted combat air-patrols with the United States Navy off the coast of India and Pakistan, ''The Hindu''. Retrieved 3 November 2006Has Pakistan Lost Its Nuclear Weapons?
''Bharat Rakshak Monitor''. Retrieved 3 November 2006
marking a significant point in the Rafale M's operational career and its integration with the carrier.


Continuing operations

''Charles de Gaulle'' participated in further actions as part of Operation Enduring Freedom in 2005. She returned to Southwest Asia in May 2006 and shortly after supported coalition efforts over Afghanistan. The aircraft carrier regularly participates in the annual bilateral naval exercises between the Indian and French navies called 'Varuna'.


Fifth overseas deployment: Task Force 473 and Operation Agapanthus 2010

A French naval task group, designated
Task Force 473 The ''Force d'action navale'' (FAN, Naval Action Force) is the 9,600-man and about 100-ship force of surface warships of the French Navy. As of 2018, it is commanded by Vice-Amiral d’Escadre Jean-Philippe Rolland. The ships are divided into s ...
, led by ''Charles de Gaulle'' departed
Toulon Toulon (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Tolon , , ) is a city on the French Riviera and a large port on the Mediterranean coast, with a major naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, and the Provence province, Toulon is th ...
on 30 October 2010 for a four-month deployment, code-named Operation Agapanthus 2010, to the Mediterranean Sea, Red Sea, Indian Ocean, and Persian Gulf. The task group also included the frigates and ; the
nuclear attack submarine An SSN is a nuclear-powered general-purpose attack submarine. ''SSN'' is the US Navy hull classification symbol for such vessels; the ''SS'' denotes a submarine and the ''N'' denotes nuclear power. The designation SSN is used for interoperabili ...
; the replenishment oiler , 3,000 sailors, and an Embarked Aviation Group (EAG) consisting of 12 Super-Étendard attack aircraft, 10 Rafale multi-role fighters, and two E-2C Hawkeye 2000
AEW AEW or aew may refer to: * Airborne early warning, airborne radar system for detecting aircraft * Aerosvit Airlines, an airline based in Kyiv, Ukraine (ICAO airline designator: AEW) * AEW Capital Management, a property investment management company ...
aircraft. The task group commander, Rear Admiral Jean-Louis Kerignard, defined force's mission as follows: On 28 November 2010, according to an
Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...
dispatch, the
French Ministry of Defense , native_name_a = , native_name_r = , type = Ministry , seal = , seal_width = , seal_caption = , logo = Ministère des Armées.svg , logo_width = 150 , logo_caption = Official logot ...
announced that a French Rafale fighter jet crashed near ''Charles de Gaulle'', which was operating off the coast of Pakistan in the Arabian Sea in support of coalition forces in Afghanistan. The pilot parachuted to safety and was picked up by helicopter, and the cause of the crash was under investigation. In December 2010, during its deployment to the
Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf ( fa, خلیج فارس, translit=xalij-e fârs, lit=Gulf of Persis, Fars, ), sometimes called the ( ar, اَلْخَلِيْجُ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Khalīj al-ˁArabī), is a Mediterranean sea (oceanography), me ...
, the British
Type 22 frigate The Type 22 frigate also known as the ''Broadsword'' class was a class of frigates built for the British Royal Navy. Fourteen were built in total, with production divided into three batches. Initially intended to be anti-submarine warfare fri ...
and the United States destroyer rotated from maritime security patrol to escort ''Charles de Gaulle'' in support of coalition military operations in
Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
. This represented an example of
interoperability Interoperability is a characteristic of a product or system to work with other products or systems. While the term was initially defined for information technology or systems engineering services to allow for information exchange, a broader defi ...
pursuant to the recently ratified Anglo-French defence cooperation treaty. Between 7–14 January 2011, Task Force 473 participated in bilateral naval exercises, code-named Varuna 10, with the
Indian Navy The Indian Navy is the maritime branch of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Navy. The Chief of Naval Staff, a four-star admiral, commands the navy. As a blue-water navy, it operates sig ...
. Indian naval units participating in Varuna 10 included the
aircraft carrier An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and facilities for carrying, arming, deploying, and recovering aircraft. Typically, it is the capital ship of a fleet, as it allows a ...
, the
frigates A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied somewhat. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and ...
and ; and the diesel-electric submarine . Varuna 10 was a two-phase naval exercise, with the harbor phase taking place between 7–11 January and the sea phase between 11 and 14 January in the
Arabian Sea The Arabian Sea ( ar, اَلْبَحرْ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Bahr al-ˁArabī) is a region of the northern Indian Ocean bounded on the north by Pakistan, Iran and the Gulf of Oman, on the west by the Gulf of Aden, Guardafui Channel ...
. Task Force 473 paid a port visit to
Goa Goa () is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is located between the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north and Karnataka to the ...
between 7–14 January 2011. The carrier ''Charles de Gaulle'' and the
frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied somewhat. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and ...
''Forbin'' also paid a goodwill visit to
Khor Fakkan Khor Fakkan ( ar, خَوْر فَكَّان, Khawr Fakkān) is a city and exclave of the Emirate of Sharjah, located on the east coast of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), facing the Gulf of Oman, and geographically surrounded by the Emirate of Fuja ...
, United Arab Emirates, on 30 January 2011, docking at its container terminal facilities. Operation Agapanthus 2010 concluded on 21 February 2011. Task Force 473 completed more than 1,000 flying hours flown from ''Charles de Gaulle'' in support of NATO's
International Security Assistance Force ' ps, کمک او همکاري ' , allies = Afghanistan , opponents = Taliban Al-Qaeda , commander1 = , commander1_label = Commander , commander2 = , commander2_label = , commander3 = , comman ...
(ISAF) deployed in Afghanistan. Task Force 473 also participated in bilateral exercises with armed forces of
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
,
Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...
, and the
United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...
to test the interoperability of French military forces and share expertise with the regional partners.


2011 Mediterranean operations

On 20 March 2011, ''Charles de Gaulle'' was deployed to the
Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ea ...
to enforce
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973 Resolution 1973 was adopted by the United Nations Security Council on 17 March 2011 in response to the First Libyan Civil War. The resolution formed the legal basis for military intervention in the Libyan Civil War, demanding "an immediate cease ...
which called for a no-fly zone over
Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya bo ...
. Accompanying ''Charles de Gaulle'' were the frigates and and the fleet replenishment tanker ''Meuse''. During Unified Protector, the air fleet had flown 1,350 sorties during the intervention in Libya. ''Charles de Gaulle'' was then withdrawn for maintenance at Toulon on 10 August. Following this deployment, ''Charles de Gaulle'' underwent maintenance and upkeep during an at-sea underway period in December 2011.


2012 FANAL exercises

On 2 February 2012, ''Charles de Gaulle'' was underway for three days of sea trials. Beginning on 5 February 2012, carrier qualifications began for the pilots of its air group. This included transitioning of pilots flying Super Étendard Modernisé (SEM) strike fighters to the new Rafale M fighters. On 16 March 2012, ''Charles de Gaulle'' departed for a one-month deployment to the Mediterranean Sea. ''Charles de Gaulle''s task force was under the overall command of Rear Admiral Philippe Coindreau, and it consisted of the frigates , , , and ; the replenishment tanker ''Meuse''; and the nuclear-powered submarine ''Émeraude''. ''Charles de Gaulle''s embarked air group consisted of 7 Rafale fighters, 7 Super Étendards Modernisés (SEM) strike fighters, and 2
E-2C Hawkeye The Northrop Grumman E-2 Hawkeye is an American all-weather, carrier-based aircraft, carrier-capable tactical Airborne early warning and control, airborne early warning (AEW) aircraft. This twin-turboprop aircraft was designed and developed duri ...
airborne early warning Airborne or Airborn may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Airborne'' (1962 film), a 1962 American film directed by James Landis * ''Airborne'' (1993 film), a comedy–drama film * ''Airborne'' (1998 film), an action film sta ...
(AEW) aircraft. The highlight of the deployment for the task group was 2012 FANAL exercises that began on 5 April 2012 which also included land-based Atlantique 2 maritime patrol aircraft. 2012 FANAL concluded on 12 April, and this was the first major exercise involving the French Navy's new Caïman helicopter.


Operations against Islamic State

In January 2015, ''Charles de Gaulle'' began being prepared for exercises in the Indian Ocean. In late February, the carrier and its battle group entered the
Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf ( fa, خلیج فارس, translit=xalij-e fârs, lit=Gulf of Persis, Fars, ), sometimes called the ( ar, اَلْخَلِيْجُ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Khalīj al-ˁArabī), is a Mediterranean sea (oceanography), me ...
to participate in
Opération Chammal Opération Chammal is a French military operation in Iraq and Syria launched to help curtail the expansion of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant and to support the Iraqi Army. Its name comes from the Shamal (''Chammal'' in French), a no ...
against Islamic State militants in Iraq. France was the first country to join the American-led intervention and has 15 fighters, a patrol aircraft, and refueling aircraft based on land in neighboring countries. The addition of ''Charles de Gaulle'' added up to another 30 aircraft to France's commitment to operations. The carrier battle group arrived in the Persian Gulf on 15 February 2015 and began launching airstrikes on 22 February; this occurred seven weeks after the ''Charlie Hebdo'' attacks, as France vowed to be more responsive to jihadist terrorism. Sailing off the north coast of
Bahrain Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and an ...
, the carrier's 12 Rafale and 9
Super Étendard Super may refer to: Computing * SUPER (computer program), or Simplified Universal Player Encoder & Renderer, a video converter / player * Super (computer science), a keyword in object-oriented programming languages * Super key (keyboard butto ...
fighters could reach targets in half the time it would take French fighters based in the
United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...
. ''Charles de Gaulle'' left the Persian Gulf in late-April 2015 after launching strike and surveillance missions against IS targets to participate in exercises with the Indian military; the carrier launched 10–15 sorties per day during its two-month deployment. On 5 November 2015, France announced ''Charles de Gaulle'' would return to the area to conduct operations and the ship departed from its base in Toulon, southern France, on 18 November. Although originally planned to redeploy to the Persian Gulf, the carrier and its strike group was re-routed to the Eastern
Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ea ...
off the Syrian coastline, much closer to targets within Syria. Sources claim ''Charles de Gaulle'' has a larger than normal air wing of 26 fighters consisting of 18 Rafales and 8 Super Étendards; the carrier has approximately 31–34 aircraft total (the official limit is 40 aircraft). The carrier began operations on 23 November 2015, 10 days after the ISIL terrorist attacks in Paris. On 7 December 2015, Rear Admiral René-Jean Crignola of the French Maritime Force, embarked in ''Charles de Gaulle'', took command of U.S. Naval Forces Central Command's Task Force 50, leading coalition naval strike operations. He was the first non-American to do so.France Takes Command of NAVCENT Task Force 50
– United States Navy, 7 December 2015
In June 2016, the United States Navy awarded the crew of the ''Charles de Gaulle'' a
Meritorious Unit Commendation The Meritorious Unit Commendation (MUC; pronounced ''muck'') is a mid-level unit award of the United States Armed Forces. The U.S. Army awards units the Army MUC for exceptionally meritorious conduct in performance of outstanding achievement or s ...
for its accomplishments. In late September 2016, ''Charles de Gaulle'' was deployed from
Toulon Toulon (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Tolon , , ) is a city on the French Riviera and a large port on the Mediterranean coast, with a major naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, and the Provence province, Toulon is th ...
to the Syrian coast for the Battle of Mosul. Its squadron of 24 Rafale M aircraft supported the international coalition against ISIL through airstrikes and reconnaissance missions. In 2020, while continuing
Opération Chammal Opération Chammal is a French military operation in Iraq and Syria launched to help curtail the expansion of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant and to support the Iraqi Army. Its name comes from the Shamal (''Chammal'' in French), a no ...
in the
Eastern Mediterranean Eastern Mediterranean is a loose definition of the eastern approximate half, or third, of the Mediterranean Sea, often defined as the countries around the Levantine Sea. It typically embraces all of that sea's coastal zones, referring to communi ...
, ''Charles de Gaulle'' was joined by the
US Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage of ...
. They joined forces on
Operation Inherent Resolve Operation Inherent Resolve (OIR) is the U.S. military's operational name for the International military intervention against IS, including both a campaign in Iraq and a campaign in Syria, with a closely-related campaign in Libya. Throu ...
, an international coalition against the
Daesh An Islamic state is a state that has a form of government based on Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to describe various historical polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As a translation of the Arabic ter ...
. Throughout the mission, the carrier strike group was joined by allied navy vessels from Germany, Belgium, Denmark, Greece, Spain, the Netherlands and Portugal. The cooperation illustrated common operational efficiency in the
Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...
. During the operation, the ''Charles de Gaulle'' carrier group, its 2,000-member crew, a and a
Hellenic Navy The Hellenic Navy (HN; el, Πολεμικό Ναυτικό, Polemikó Naftikó, War Navy, abbreviated ΠΝ) is the naval force of Greece, part of the Hellenic Armed Forces. The modern Greek navy historically hails from the naval forces of vari ...
frigate docked at the Port of Limassol for a five-day port call. The
President of Cyprus The president of Cyprus, officially the president of the Republic of Cyprus, is the head of state and the head of government of Cyprus. The office was created in 1960, after Cyprus gained its independence from the United Kingdom. Currently, t ...
,
Nicos Anastasiades Nicos Anastasiades ( el, Νίκος Αναστασιάδης ; born 27 September 1946) is a Cypriot politician who is the current president of Cyprus since 2013. He was re-elected in 2018. Previously, he was the leader of Democratic Rally betwe ...
, and ambassador Isabelle Dumont addressed the aircraft crew in the presence of Captain Guillaume Pinget.


Mission Clemenceau

The aircraft carrier led the carrier strike group Task Force 473 on a five-month long operation that began in March 2019, through the Mediterranean Sea. Aircraft from ''Charles de Gaulle'' participated in the last major combat against the Islamic State in the
Battle of Baghuz Fawqani The Battle of Baghuz Fawqani was an offensive by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), assisted by Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve (CJTF-OIR) airstrikes, artillery, and special forces personnel, that began on 9 February ...
and then sailed for the Indian Ocean. Arriving in Singapore on 28 May, the aircraft carrier participated in a bilateral exercise with the Singapore Armed Forces.


COVID-19 pandemic

In April 2020, 40 crew members began to show symptoms of
COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...
, requiring ''Charles de Gaulle'' to return to her home port
Toulon arsenal The military port of Toulon (french: arsenal de Toulon) is the principal base of the French Navy and the largest naval base in the Mediterranean, sited in the city of Toulon. It holds most of France's force d'action navale, comprising the airc ...
earlier than planned, as reported on 8 April by the Ministry of Armed Forces. After 66 tests were conducted, the ministry announced on 10 April that 50 tests had returned positive. Three sailors were evacuated by helicopter to .nytimes.com / reuters
''France Reports 50 COVID-19 Cases Aboard Aircraft Carrier''
/ref> On 19 April, ''The New York Times'' reported that 1,081 crew members in the carrier's naval group had tested positive, nearly all of which were on board ''Charles de Gaulle''. The figure equated to nearly 60 percent of the carrier's total complement. On 11 May 2020, Florence Parly reported to the National Assembly the conclusions of two investigations into the outbreak on board the carrier, stating that the virus had first arrived before a stopover made in Brest, and that although the command and medical team aboard the carrier had "excessive confidence" in their ability to deal with the virus, the investigations did not consider them at fault. Parly further explained that the introduction of the virus on board the carrier happened sometime between when it left
Limassol Limassol (; el, Λεμεσός, Lemesós ; tr, Limasol or ) is a city on the southern coast of Cyprus and capital of the district with the same name. Limassol is the second largest urban area in Cyprus after Nicosia, with an urban population ...
,
Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...
, on 26 February 2020, and when it arrived at Brest on 13 March 2020. During this time, personnel had been brought on board via air from either Cyprus,
Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...
, the
Balearic Islands The Balearic Islands ( es, Islas Baleares ; or ca, Illes Balears ) are an archipelago in the Balearic Sea, near the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. The archipelago is an autonomous community and a province of Spain; its capital is ...
, Spain, or
Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
. The spread of the virus, however, was exacerbated by the stopover at Brest. Social distancing and other measures were taken after the stopover, but they weighed heavily on crew morale, so after enforcing the strict measures for a fortnight, they were relaxed, and a concert on board was authorized for 30 March 2020. Parly also noted that all soldiers aboard ''Charles de Gaulle'' have since recovered from the disease except for one sailor, who was still hospitalized after leaving the ICU. Later analysis by physicians at the Military Instruction Hospital Sainte Anne in
Toulon Toulon (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Tolon , , ) is a city on the French Riviera and a large port on the Mediterranean coast, with a major naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, and the Provence province, Toulon is th ...
found that 60% of ''Charles de Gaulle''s 1,706 crewmembers were antibody-positive by the end of quarantine.


Clemenceau 21

''Charles de Gaulle'' led the carrier strike group (CSG), as part of the “Clemenceau 21” mission, which set sail on 21 February 2021. The CSG is deployed for several months to the Mediterranean Sea, then to the Indian Ocean and the
Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf ( fa, خلیج فارس, translit=xalij-e fârs, lit=Gulf of Persis, Fars, ), sometimes called the ( ar, اَلْخَلِيْجُ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Khalīj al-ˁArabī), is a Mediterranean sea (oceanography), me ...
and is set to return to Toulon in June. From 18 November to 2 December 2021, the ''Charles de Gaulle'' took part in Exercise POLARIS 21 in the western
Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...
sea.


Clemenceau 22

''Charles de Gaulle'' set sail on 1 February leading the French Carrier Strike Group (CSG) to the Mediterranean as part of Clemenceau 22 from February to April 2022. This CSG consist of 1 Air defence Destroyer, ''Forbin'' (D620), 1 Air Defence Frigate, ''Alsace'' (D656), 1 Anti-Submarine Frigate, ''Normandie'' (D651), 1 ''Rubis''-class SSN and 1 ''Durance''-class replenishment oiler, ''Marne'' (A630). The CSG will be joined by other 3 other allies' ships and 1 submarine.


Carrier air group

The carrier air group () operates three squadrons (11F, 12F, 17F) of fifteen Rafale M aircraft each, and one squadron (4f) of three E-2C Hawkeye aircraft. These are the: *Flottille 11F *Flottille 12F *
Flottille 17F Flottille 17F is a squadron of French Naval Aviation which currently flies the Dassault Rafale M from Landivisiau Naval Air Base. It was formed during April 1958 at Hyeres Naval Air Base and flew the Vought F4U7 Corsair for training purposes. ...
*Flottille 4F Typically two Rafale squadrons are expected to rotate in the ''Charles de Gaulle'' carrier air group, and a pair of E-2Cs would supplement them. In peacetime, the number of aircraft on board may be lower: 30/40 Rafale M, 2 E-2C Hawkeye and 2/4 AS365 Dauphin helicopters. Although 30 Rafales, divided into two squadrons, are expected to be on board, usually some aircraft remain in France for upgrade or training. US Navy F-18 Hornets and C-2 Greyhounds regularly conduct qualification traps and launches from ''Charles de Gaulle''. In June 2011, two US Navy C-2A(R) Greyhounds were assigned to the French Navy to conduct operational carrier on-board delivery (COD) missions for ''Charles de Gaulle'' during the NATO intervention in Libya. In 2019, ''Charles de Gaulle'' operated 35 aircraft during exercises, its record: two Dauphin helicopters, thirty Rafale M, two E-2C Hawkeye and one NH90 NFH Caiman. In the event of war, the carrier is expected to operate close to its full complement of 40 aircraft. The air group took part in combat operations in Afghanistan, Syria and Libya.


French aircraft carrier procurement

The French Navy aimed to be a two-carrier navy, mainly to ensure that at least one ship is operational at all times even when the other is under repair. This scheme requires another aircraft carrier to be built; however, ''Charles de Gaulle'' is the only aircraft carrier currently serving. Cost considerations have made equipment standardization a necessity. In this context, there is a possibility of collaboration with Britain for future aircraft carriers.
Thales UK Thales Group () is a French multinational company that designs, develops and manufactures electrical systems as well as devices and equipment for the aerospace, defence, transportation and security sectors. The company is headquartered in Paris' ...
(with BMT) made the design for the suitable for construction for France as the
French aircraft carrier PA2 PA2 (french: Porte-Avions 2, links=no, "Aircraft Carrier 2") was a planned aircraft carrier under development by Thales Naval France and DCNS for the French Navy. The design was based on the aircraft carriers developed for the Royal Navy. The ...
. Steps were taken by both countries to make such a scenario possible: the new carrier had to be conventionally propelled to meet the requirements of the
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...
. France favoured nuclear propulsion, and a study was conducted to see if it was more cost-efficient than gas turbines. However, the 2013 French Defence White Paper cancelled the plan for a second carrier. Following completion of the midlife upgrade, in October 2018 the French armed forces minister announced an 18-month study to determine the requirements for a future carrier. In December 2020, President Macron announced that construction of the
New Generation Aircraft Carrier The French Navy is actively planning for a future aircraft carrier and new flagship. It is known in French as ''Porte-avions de nouvelle génération'' (PA-NG) for 'new generation aircraft carrier'. Construction of the PANG is expected to begi ...
would begin in around 2025 with sea trials to start in about 2036. The carrier is planned to have a displacement of around 75,000 tons and to carry about 32 next-generation fighters, two to three E-2D Advanced Hawkeyes and a yet-to-be-determined number of unmanned carrier air vehicles.


See also

*
List of aircraft carriers This list of aircraft carriers contains aircraft carriers listed alphabetically by name. An aircraft carrier is a warship with a full-length flight deck and facilities for carrying, arming, deploying, and recovering aircraft, that serves a ...
*
List of naval ship classes in service The list of naval ship classes in service includes all combatant surface classes in service currently with navies or armed forces and auxiliaries in the world. Ships are grouped by type, and listed alphabetically within. For other vessels, see ...
* ''Mistral''-class French
helicopter carrier A helicopter carrier is a type of aircraft carrier whose primary purpose is to operate helicopters, and has a large flight deck that occupies a substantial part of the deck, which can extend the full length of the ship like of the Royal Navy ( ...


Notes


References


Further reading

* *


External links

*
''Charles de Gaulle'' aircraft carrier
at Alabordache.fr {{DEFAULTSORT:Charles De Gaulle Aircraft carriers of the French Navy Ships built in France 1994 ships Nuclear-powered ships Aircraft carriers of France Charles de Gaulle French involvement in the Syrian civil war Articles containing video clips Aircraft carriers involved in the COVID-19 pandemic