- France is preparing to
begin development
of a new aircraft carrier, tentatively known as PANG.
- The new ship will be bigger than the existing
Charles de Gaulle
but carry fewer crew.
- PANG will carry the France’s next generation combat jet and unmanned strike drones.
French President Emmanuel Macron is prepared to authorize development of his country’s next-gen aircraft carrier. The carrier, known as PANG, will replace
Charles de Gaulle
as well as serve as a platform for France’s future air combat aircraft.
U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Dalton S. Swanbeck
A U.S. Marine Corps MV-22 Osprey prepares to land on the carrier Charles de Gaulle in the Andaman Sea, 2019.
In the late 1980s, France began construction on the first of what was planned to be two aircraft carriers, replacements for the then-serving carriers
Foch
and
Clemenceau
. This began a
14-year odyssey
of development that was at times slowed due to lack of funds, faulty propellers, an inadequately long flight deck, and insufficient radiation shielding for the nuclear reactor. Although delivered to the fleet in 2000, the ship didn’t reach its full potential until a refit in 2007. In the meantime a second nuclear-powered carrier, known as PA2, was canceled due to lack of funds.
Charles de Gaulle
is France’s only aircraft carrier.
de Gaulle
is nuclear powered, 856 feet long, and displaces 43,000 tons. The carrier is less than half the size of the U.S. Navy’s
Nimitz
and
Ford
-class carriers but can still carry up to 30 aircraft. The carrier’s primary striking power is provided by the Rafale-M multi-role fighter jet. A feature that places the
de Gaulle
ahead of Chinese and even British aircraft carriers is the ability to operate E-2C Hawkeye airborne early warning and control planes. The E-2C vastly increases the usefulness of
de Gaulle
’s fighters, detecting enemies and then vectoring Rafales to intercept them beyond surface radar range.
France wants the new carrier ready to take over by 2038, when
CDG
will be 40 years old. PANG will be a 70,000 ton ship, nearly twice as large as the older carrier by weight.
According to Naval News
it will also likely utilize nuclear propulsion. France has territories and interests around the world and a nuclear-powered ship could steam to a crisis without stopping to refuel. A nuclear reactor could also allow France to install laser weapons and other high-energy weapons onboard, either as part of the initial weapons package or down the road in a future upgrade.
Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Tyler Caswell
A French Rafale fighter aboard USS Harry S. Truman, 2013. French and American naval aviators occasionally practice taking off and landing from one another’s carriers to practice interoperability at sea.
One key technology aboard
CDG
is likely to be USA-made. France is reportedly very interested in the electromagnetic aircraft launching system (EMALS) in use on the aircraft carrier USS
Ford
. EMALS has had more than its share of problems but the French note the system seems to be working much better now. The carrier might have three EMALS systems to the
Ford
’s four, allowing it to launch up to three aircraft in a short period of time. As a top U.S. ally and close cooperator with the U.S. Navy on carrier aviation, France will likely get this system and whatever else it wants from the U.S.
Naval News believes PANG will typically embark about 32 NGF fighters?France’s next generation fighter jet?and 2-3 E-2D Hawkeyes. A joint Spanish-German-French project,
New Generation Fighter (NGF)
is set to replace the 1980s-era Rafale-M fighter on PANG. It will almost certainly be accompanied by carrier-based drones capable of reconnaissance, strike, or midair refueling missions.
Source:
Naval News
Kyle Mizokami is a writer on defense and security issues and has been at
Popular Mechanics
since 2015. If it involves explosions or projectiles, he's generally in favor of it. Kyle’s articles have appeared at
The Daily Beast, U.S. Naval Institute News, The Diplomat, Foreign Policy, Combat Aircraft Monthly, VICE News
, and others. He lives in San Francisco.