Will France one day have two aircraft carriers like in the past? The project is being studied in the DGA (General Directorate of Armaments) with a modification of the military programming law (LPM) presented by the Renaissance deputy Jean-Charles Larsonneur.
It is above all a strategic necessity to maintain the deterrence with a carrier battle group ready to go on a warning period of just one week. With only one boat, shutdowns for maintenance and crew training last several months. In these periods, no mission is possible.
“We are not just talking about a boat”
During the Medef summer school held this week, Emmanuel Chiva, general armaments delegate, was questioned about the issue and raised the complexity of such a project.
In fact, having an aircraft carrier requires having an impressive naval air force. Along with Charles-de-Gaulle, she consists of one nuclear attack submarine (SNA), two multi-mission frigates, two anti-aircraft frigates, one stealthy light patrol frigate, and one supply ship.
A decision handed down in 2028
As for the aircraft, the new generation aircraft carrier (PA-ng), which will replace the Charles-De-Gaulle in 2038, will be equipped with around forty fighters (Rafale marine and NGF), drones, helicopters and surveillance devices. For the crew of this navy, some 2,000 people are needed, more than a thousand sailors and 600 pilots and mechanics for the on-board air group.
DGA engineers are working on this militarily necessary possibility, but whose feasibility is complex. The decision “illuminated by these studies” must be made before 2028, that is, in less than five years, so that the project is possible, not only militarily and financially, but also industrially.
Source: BFM TV
