French carrier Charles de Gaulle embarks on the first mission since 2016

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The aircraft carrier will operate within a strike group consisting of an air defense frigate, multitasking frigate, command and supply ship, and a nuclear-powered submarine. In various stages of the mission, French naval units will be accompanied by ships of the navy: British, American, Italian, Australian, Portuguese and Danish. On board Charles de Gaulle alone serves about 2,000 sailors.

Having on board 30 multitasking Rafale aircraft and two Hawkee early warning aircraft, the strike group will carry out a mission to support international efforts in the fight against ISIS terrorists. The aircraft carrier will eventually arrive in Singapore and participate in the 2019 Shangri-La dialogue, which will start at the end of May.

Charles de Gaulle is a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier and serves as the flagship of the French Navy. Launched in 1994, he did not enter service until May 2001. The 42 500 tonnes (full load) unit can accommodate on board Rafale M fighters, tactical early warning aircraft E-2 Hawkeye and helicopters SA365 Dauphin, EC725 Caracal and AS532 Cougar.

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During several years of service, Charles de Gaulle participated in a number of missions and conflicts, including as support for Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan, an element of the forced no-fly zone under UN Security Council Resolution 1973 in Libya, or the actions of Western states against ISIS in Iraq.

Although the ship will serve the Navy of France for many more years, conceptual work on its successor is currently underway and is due to end in 2020. For the time being, it is not known whether the new aircraft carrier will have comparable buoyancy, which drive will be used, or what take-off technologies will be used.

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