French aircraft carrier FS Charles De Gaulle (R91) is preparing to deploy, according to a French Navy release. Meanwhile the Italian Navy Cavour Carrier Strike Group has wrapped up a five-month deployment to the Indo-Pacific, arriving home in Taranto on Oct. 30.
Flight operations on Charles De Gaulle halted for nearly four months while the carrier underwent restoration works, the French Navy said in a Monday news release.
Subsequently, the carrier carried out a three-week training period in the Mediterranean from Oct. 4 through Oct. 25 to regain its operational certification.
During the training, junior pilots on its embarked Rafale-M fighter aircraft carried out qualification drills for carrier landings, according to the release. At the same time, a test program by French aerospace manufacturer Dassault, which produces the Rafale-M, worked on developing future standards for the Rafale-M. The French Navy’s Centre for Practical Experimentation and Reception of Naval Aeronautics, or CEPA, carried out test flights for the transition of the Rafale M to the Rafale F4.1 Standard. The new F4.1 standard, which the French Air Force and French Navy will field, incorporates both upgrades to its existing systems and introduces new systems and weapons, according to Dassault.
“The Charles de Gaulle is today embarking on a final four-week sequence of logistical and operational preparation at the quayside, before its next deployment in a constituted carrier battle group.” reads the release. The French Navy has not announced where the French CSG will deploy.
On Monday, in conjunction with the Euronaval naval exhibition held in Paris this week, the French Ministry of the Armed Forces issued several releases about the future development of the French Navy. One release detailed the planned composition of the French carrier strike group in 2038 when the next generation aircraft carrier (PA-NG) will replace the Charles de Gaulle. In 2038, the Suffren-class nuclear-powered attack submarine will support the CSG. Two of those attack boats are currently in service, with one undergoing sea trials. Another three boats will get delivered in stages through 2030.
The future French CSG’s escorts will include not only the eight FREMM-class frigates and two Horizon-class frigates, but also five defense and intervention frigates, or FDI. Lead ship Amiral Ronarc’h (D660) is currently going through sea trials before its delivery in 2025. All five FDIs are scheduled to be in the fleet by 2032.
Logistical support for the future French CSG is already in place with the first of four Bâtiments Ravitailleurs de Forces (BRF) fleet oilers, according to the release. FS Jacques Chevallier (A725) is already in service, with two more ships set for delivery by 2030 and the fourth by 2035.
The FREMM frigate is the baseline for the U.S Navy’s Constellation-class frigates. Of the eight operated by the French Navy, four ships are currently operating with a Blue-Gold crew model to increase the number of operational days at sea. Crew rotation taking place every four months, according to a release on the French Navy’s fleet programs.
Charles De Gaulle will carry out its third and final modernization between 2027 and 2028 before getting replaced by the PA-NG, which will operate the fifth-generation fighter of the Future Air Combat System program (FACS) and unmanned combat aerial vehicles.
The Rafale-M, of which 41 are in service, will transition from the F4 Standard introduced this year to the F5 standard in around 2030, according to a release from the French Navy’s aviation arm. The F5 Standard will be able to carry the future hypersonic nuclear missile, ASN4G, and be accompanied by UCAVs. The current three E-2C Hawkeye Airborne Early Warning aircraft will be replaced by a similar number of E-2D Advanced Hawkeye scheduled to enter service between 2028 and 2030, according to the release.
Aircraft carrier ITS Cavour (CVH-550), flagship of the Italian Navy’s Fleet, left, and the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72), flagship of Carrier Strike Group Three, sail alongside the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Frank E. Petersen Jr. (DDG-121) on Aug. 9, 2024. US Navy Photo
Meanwhile, at the end of last month, the Italian Navy’s Cavour CSG arrived in Taranto, Italy, after completing a five-month Indo-Pacific deployment. The CSG included aircraft carrier ITS Cavour (550), frigate ITS Alpino (F592), and multipurpose combat ship ITS Raimondo Montecuccoli (P432).
The three ships in the CSG deployed for 152 days, including 101 days at sea, and sailed approximately 77,000 nautical miles on the deployment, according to an Italian Navy news release.
“Under the command of Rear Admiral Giancarlo Ciappina, the national aircraft carrier group has worked to promote and strengthen Italy’s presence in the Indo-Pacific region, making the most of its strong projection capabilities by cooperating, and in some cases also integrating, air and naval assets of allied and partner navies, thus improving interoperability and interchangeability at the same time,” reads the release.
The deployment also allowed the Italian Navy and Air Force’s F-35B Lightning II fighters to reach Initial Operational Capability for sea-based expeditionary operations ahead of schedule.
Cavour and Alpino set out eastwards in June, while Raimondo Montecuccoli left earlier in May, heading westward via the Atlantic Ocean and Panama Canal to Hawaii to participate in the biennial Rim of the Pacific 2024 exercise. The combat ship then joined Cavour and Alpino in Japan in August for exercise Noble Raven 24-3 with the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, French Navy, German Navy and the Royal Australian Navy.
Raimondo Montecuccoli then detached from Cavour and Alpino to conduct independent operations before rejoining the CSG, which carried out drills with the Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group in U.S. Central Command on Oct. 18. With the return to its homeport of La Spezia, Italy, Raimondo Montecuccoli has carried out a full circumnavigation voyage, deploying for 190 days, according to a Thursday news release.
In other developments the Italian Amphibious Task Force was operationally certified after completing the “AMPHEX 24” exercise, carried out in Sardinia, Italy from Oct. 8 through Oct. 23, according to a Wednesday Italian Navy release.
“This capability is essentially expressed in a pool of forces, including all maneuver and combat support capabilities, available to the Chief of Defense and employable for the conduct of amphibious operations upon mandate from the military-political leadership,” reads the release. “Wherever and whenever there is a need, the Italian amphibious force, part of the National Sea Projection Capability, is ready to respond rapidly and effectively.”
The Italian Amphibious Task Force is spearheaded by amphibious transport docks ITS San Giorgio (L9892) and ITS San Marco (L9893), while it’s embarked Joint Landing Force is built around the Italian Army’s Lagunari Regiment “Serenissima” and elements of the Italian Navy’s San Marco Marine Brigade.