It's been announced tonight that Jacques Chirac has decided that France's second aircraft carrier will be built jointly with the UK. All together, three similar hulls should be built.
It will be bigger than the Charles de Gaulle but it wont use nuclear power.
It will use catapults to launch the Rafale multi role fighters that are currently entering service.
The in service date has not been announced but can be expected for around 2015
*source*The first name of this aircraft carrier was "Richelieu" but for political reasons it has been renamed Charles de Gaulle (under Jacques Chirac's government) after the famous WWII general.
Ainsi pourquoi appelé a-t-il été changé? Sûrement Richelieu était autant d'un géant comme de Gaulle?
Maybe Chirac didn't think so. Not that the name is of much concern anyway. When you say it is being built jointly with the UK, is this referring to UK contractors or a joint project with the MoD?
Just curious?
What does France need aircraft carriers for anymore?
Status of Current French Carrier Fleet
CV FOCH (R 99): She was retired from French service in October 2000. It will be upgraded in French shipyards and operated by the Brazilian Navy (Marinha do Brazil).
CV CLEMENCEAU (R 98): The Clemenceau was discommissioned on October 1st 1997, it has been replaced by the CVN Charles de Gaulle. She is now moored in Toulon harbor (naval cemetery) and will be transferred with the CV Foch to Brazil as a spares magazine ship.
CVN CHARLES DE GAULLE (R 91): The Charles De Gaulle is a 38,000 ton, nuclear powered French aircraft carrier launched in May 1994. The Charles de Gaulle was officially handed over to the French Navy on 28 September 2000. The ship operates a fleet of 40 Rafale M combat aircraft, the Super Etendard and three E-2C Hawkeye airborne early warning aircraft. The ship also supports the AS 565 Panther and Dauphin helicopters.
Left to right: ITS Maestrale (F 570), FS De Grasse (D 612), USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74), USS Port Royal (CG 73), FS Charles de Gaulle (R 91), HMS Ocean (L 12), FS Surcouf (F 711), USS John F. Kennedy (CV 67), HNLMS Van Amstel (F 831), and ITS Luigi Durand de la Penne (D 560)
What is that? The no germans allowed fleet!?!?!?!
I heard they are building the New French Navy with glass bottom boats, does anyone know why?
Why is thing not going to be nuclear powered?
And how many carriers does the US have?
We have twelve Super Carriers plus another twelve Wasp and Tarawa Class Amphibious Assault ships capable of carrying 20 Harriers +6 Helicopters(more then British Invincible Class Carriers).
The new carrier should be the fruit of a joint project with the UK in order to reduce costs for the two parties involved.
The hull will be similar for the two countries but the bridge should be quite different since FR uses conventional catapult-launched aircrafts (Rafale, Super Etendards and Hawkeyes E2F) and the UK should then be using the VSTOL version of the F35.
The main contractor should be the UK part of the French company Thales.
It's a big step forward for the European defence even though I am sure it will lead, as always, to a lot of bickering on both sides of the Channel.
As far as the propulsion mode, nuclear power is more expensive and it would have also closed the door to a joint UK/FR project.
How many countries have aircraft carriers?
I know US, UK, France, India, China(?), Russia all have at least one.
Who else?
Brazil, Spain, Italy, Thailand.. maybe some others also..
*Edit*
China does not have a single carrier.. they may have some in the future, but as of now, their only carrier functions as floating Casino.. and even that was bought from Russia..
[quoteWhat does France need aircraft carriers for anymore?[/quote]
To evacuate over a hundred stranded US citizens from Liberia like in 2003 for example; or to bomb Taliban positions in Afghanistan in 2002, or Hizballah positions in the Lebanon in 1983...just a few examples.
Yeah..
Frances navy and foreign legion are always kept busy in Africa, their wars in there are just not talked much about..
It's true but it's not JUST the foreign legion that goes overseas.
The French army has been an all regular force for several years now and every unit can be deployed.
It sounds sexyer to say "foreign legion" all the time but it's just not true; the FR army has 20 Infantry Bn, only two are FL.
In Ivory Coast at the moment, all the infantry units are line, mechanized infantry units but in a "light" (VAB APCs and trucks) role.
In Kabul, it's a constant rotation between line, airborne and marine units.
The FL has only 2 inf Bn, 2 Engineers Bn and 1 Cavalry Bn; the other units are either training or depot units. Those units permanently based overseas are "skeleton" units with generally one rifle Co and one HQ Co ready to take on reinforcements coming from France in case of needs.
I think the French and the Royal Navy will be lucky to see the new carriers as I think its going to end up another CVA 01.
A carrier designed in the 1960'6/70's to replace the British large carriers where effectivly the treasury called the shots in everything it was eventually dropped.
And as the British chancellors sums don't add up there will be huge budget cuts mainly from the defence budget because the sacred cows of education, Health and social security couldn't be asked to cut their budgets. ANd Big defence projects like Carriers will be the first to go. Any way for the British to get the carrier it will need aircraft and if the democrats are elected i would say they'll cut the defense budget so bye bye JSF STOVL.
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