The French aircraft carrier "Charles de Gaulle" is currently on its way back to its home port of Toulon after a four-month deployment in the Indo-Pacific. After travelling through the Red Sea and passing through the Suez Canal, it made a stopover in Souda Bay on the north side of the island of Crete.
French aircraft carrier "Charles de Gaulle". Photo: Marine Nationale
The nuclear-powered French carrier (260 x 64 metres, 42,500 tonnes), which entered service 23 years ago, carries 22 Dassault Rafale fighter aircraft as well as Grumman E-2 Hawkeye reconnaissance aircraft for air surveillance and Eurocopter AS-565 Panther helicopters for rescue and anti-submarine warfare tasks. During its deployment off Southeast Asia, it was accompanied by a submarine and various frigates for operational security as well as other logistical ships for supply and support.
France and Greece
Although you still need some consumables and spare parts even on the last few miles before the home port, the visit to Greece probably also had a tangible partner aspect: Naval Group, the leading French state-owned shipyard group, is currently building four Belh@rra-class frigates for Greece.
New frigate "Nearchos" for Greece, launching. Photo: Naval Group
The frigate, known under the export designation Frégate de Défense et d'Intervention (FDI), is also being built simultaneously for the German Navy under the class name "Amiral-Ronarc'h" in five examples (122 metres, 4,500 tonnes). Her armament is to consist of Aster anti-aircraft missiles in 16 cells (32 for the Greek variant), Exocet anti-ship missiles in 2 quadruple launchers, 4 torpedo tubes for submarine hunting and a 76mm multi-purpose gun.
French newbuilding frigate "Amiral Ronarc'h". Photo: Naval Group
Short visits promote friendship
Greece is also buying additional weapons systems from French defence companies: In addition to the 18 Dassault Rafale fighter bombers already delivered, 6 additional fighter planes are currently being manufactured for Greece.
In September 2021, Greece and France signed a strategic cooperation agreement to work more closely together in the areas of security and defence. As a result, France has become Greece's largest arms supplier in Europe by far. It's nice to drop by and send a friendly greeting - just before Easter.
While France has a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier in the form of the "Charles de Gaulle", a comparable project in Germany remains unrealistic to this day. Why it will not be realised in the foreseeable future there will be no German aircraft carrierwe explain in detail in this article.
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