France will replace its aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle, named after the former general who was president of France from 1958 to 1969, with a new one. President Emmanuel Macron announced this on Sunday at a military base in Abu Dhabi, near the Strait of Hormuz. He visited fellow countrymen who had been sent there to celebrate Christmas.
The new aircraft carrier is expected to cost 10.25 billion euros, will be 310 meters long and will have a displacement (water displacement) of 80,000 tons. There must be room on board for 2,000 crew members and 30 fighter aircraft. A considerable size larger than the Charles de Gaulle, which was commissioned in 2001, which ‘only’ displaces 42,000 tons of water and is 261 meters long. Building that ship took fifteen years.
“In this time of predators, we must be strong to be feared,” Macron said Le Monde during a speech. He has the spirit of the times: General Fabien Mandon stated last month that the French armed forces must be ready “in three or four years” for “a confrontation” with Russia, which “may be tempted to continue the war on our continent.”
Champagne in 2038
The aircraft carrier will not meet that deadline. The idea is that the champagne will not be smashed against the bow until 2038. Once completed, the new vessel should, according to Macron, “illustrate the strength of our nation.” “The power of industry, technology, the power in the service of freedom at sea and in the turbulence of our times.” The military project is called Porte-Avions de Nouvelle Générationabbreviated PANG.
According to Macron, the project is mainly a major incentive for small and medium-sized businesses. Eight hundred suppliers are involved in the project. The French defense industry currently has a turnover of approximately thirty billion euros; After the United States, the French export the most weapons in the world.
Not everyone is enthusiastic about the plan. Left and center parties would have preferred that the project be postponed due to the questionable financial situation in France. The national debt now amounts to 109 percent of GDP. That is almost twice as high as the European limit of 60 percent.
In Europe, in addition to France, the United Kingdom, Spain and Italy also have aircraft carriers. The United States and China have eleven and three respectively, writes Reuters news agency. Japan, India and Turkey also own an aircraft carrier.
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