At the end of an “unavailability for intermediate maintenance” [IEI] Having lasted approximately five months, the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle has begun its ramp-up for several weeks now. Now, he is ready to be deployed again within his carrier strike group [GAN ou TF473]. Thus, on April 26, it will set sail from Toulon for a short mission to focus exclusively on the Mediterranean, a presence in the Red Sea having been excluded in order to avoid any escalation with the Houthi rebels, who target commercial traffic around the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
This deployment, called “Akila” [qui doit vouloir dire « aigle » si on se réfère au latin, aquila], will therefore see the participation of the GAN in the Mare Aperto 24 exercise, organized by the Marina Militare between May 3 and 27. This will “allow us to have two groups work, one with the [porte-aéronefs] ‘Cavour’, the other with the ‘Charles de Gaulle'”, explained Admiral Nicolas Vaujour, the Chief of Staff of the French Navy. [CEMM]last October.
But before that, the French carrier group will be placed under the operational control of NATO, more precisely under that of the “Naval Striking and Support Forces NATO” [StrikforNato], for two weeks. Which will be unprecedented, as recalled by Vice-Admiral Didier Maleterre, number two of the NATO Maritime Command [MARCOM] from the AFP.
“This is the first time that the nuclear aircraft carrier Charles-de-Gaulle and its entire escort, including a nuclear attack submarine, have been placed [SNA]under the operational control of NATO for 15 days during an operational vigilance activity, which is significantly more significant than an exercise,” explained the officer.
However, the Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier is supposed to allow the implementation of the Nuclear Naval Air Force [FANu] which, created in 1978, is one of the three strategic forces of French deterrence.
Unique in the world since American aircraft carriers no longer carry nuclear weapons, the FANu is a “contingency force” which, when the aircraft carrier is at sea, is obviously in the hands of the President of the Republic alone. , Army chief. Also, if the GAN comes under the operational control of NATO, this will not be its case.
“We are in no way going to lose our strategic autonomy. At any time, we can recover the mandate” and place the GAN again under national command “during the operation, if necessary,” said Vice-Admiral Maleterre.
For the commander of the GAN, Rear Admiral Jacques Mallard, this mission “will allow us to fall into line by putting ourselves on the same level as our allies. We will also learn a lot […]we must build mutual know-how.”
Furthermore, according to Cols Bleus, the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle will welcome on board the North Atlantic Council [CAN], composed of representatives of the 33 member countries. In addition, it will be escorted by American, Spanish, Greek, Italian and Portuguese naval forces.