Posted on 11/17/2015 5:25:03 AM PST by sukhoi-30mki
While the French Navy Carrier Strike Group (CSG) was originally planned to deploy to the Persian Gulf, plan has now changed. Following the terrorist attacks in Paris, French President Hollande announced today that the Charles de Gaulle nuclear-powered aircraft carrier would leave its base on Thursday to deploy to the Eastern Mediteranean. Navy Recognition understands that the air wing will be larger than usual. In the meantime French and American defence officials agreed to increase their cooperation.
The French Navy nuclear-powered aircraft carrier (CVN) Charles de Gaulle (R91) is expected to deploy with up to 34 aircraft on board. This would be a first for an operational mission.
Picture: French Navy
By deploying the CSG in the Eastern Mediteranean, presumably off the Syrian coastline, the French Navy aircraft will be much closer to their objectives in Syria.
Various sources, including the very reliable Fauteuil de Colbert blog, indicate that the Charles de Gaulle will deploy with a unusually large air wing consisting of 26 fighters (18 Rafale M and 8 Super-Etendard Modernisé). This is above the official limit of 24 fighters and this would be a first in the French carrier history for an operational mission..
In total, Charles de Gaulle should have 31 to 34 aircraft onboard:
» 18x Rafale ;
» 8x Super-Etendard Modernisé (SEM) ;
» 2x E-2C Hawkeye ;
» 3 to 5 CSAR and SAR helicopters including Air Force Caracal and Navy Alouette III
This should be the last operational deployment of the SEM as the aircraft which is flying for the French Navy for over 40 years now is set to be pulled out of service next year.
Around the Charles de Gaulle CVN, the CSG itself should be composed of Horizon class Air Defennse Destroyer Chevalier Paul (classified as Frigate in the French Navy), Leygues class ASW Frigate La Motte-Picquet, Durance class replenishment oiler Marne and as usual a Rubis class submarine (SSN).
The French CSG will receive escorts from allied navies as well: Belgian Navy Leopold I Frigate, Royal Australian Navy Frigate HMAS Melbourne (Perry class) and Royal Navy Type 23 Frigate HMS St Albans. It is understood that these vessels won't be integrated in the French CSG simultaneously but will rather take turns. It would not be surprising to see U.S. Navy vessels operating alongside the French CSG as well, as it has been the case earlier this year in the Gulf.
In the meantime, defense officials said U.S. Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter has been an advocate of easing restrictions on intelligence sharing with France. After Mr. Carter spoke Sunday with French Minister of Defense Jean-Yves Le Drian, their second call since the attacks in Paris on Friday night, Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook said the defense chiefs “agreed on concrete steps the U.S. and French militaries should take to further intensify our close cooperation in prosecuting a sustained campaign†against Islamic State.
Let the EU and China keep the Hormouz Straight open.
Why announce it? Just do it.
If you let TCPL build the Keystone, you won’t need middle east oil. But I digress.
34 aircraft!? ROFL! That boat is so tiny.
Looks like they do not store aircraft in the hanger deck.
Nearly 30 years ago, USS Forrestall (CV-59), now razor blades, deployed to the Persian Gulf with nearly 90 planes aboard. Just sayin’. At least our good friends the French have the stones to DO SOMETHING now, as opposed to The Won.
Does it have a hanger deck?
Can any of those planes carry nukes?
They’re going the wrong way
They ought to be blockading Calais
Yes, it has a hangar deck. ;-)
Given PGMs and standoff weapons an airwing with 26 strike aircraft (the rest being support: E-2s and helos) is fairly potent. Remember that the key number isn’t actually raw number of aircraft, but rather how many sorties the carrier can generate during the course of operations. There’s a point of diminishing returns where having more aircraft aboard lowers the number of possible sorties.
They have sent a strong carrier strike group, with a larger than normal air wing.
The Rafaels and Super Etendards will soon send ISIS their messages.
I know Navy Reco personally. Great site and a good military journalist/reporter.
He is also French and is feeling this attack personally.
Go get some FRance!
The Etendards are ancient platforms - the Argies were flying them in the Falklands with some success against the Royal Navy.
I'd be curious to see what upgrades they've done to the aircraft...
Sure, US supercarriers used to deploy with 90-aircraft airwings.
But how many of those aircraft were maintenance hogs that spent a LOT of time in the hangar being fixed? I read somewhere that the F/A-18E/Fs have much lower maintence requirements than the F-14s did. The F-14 was a better all around plane in terms of performance, but had only something like 1/2 the sortie rate of the SuperBug.
IIRC it used to be that carrier squadrons took a plane or two each along on deployments as “hangar queens” that would sit in the hangar and be cannibalized for parts to keep the other ones flying. The F-14D in the Smithsonian (VF-31 Iraqi Freedom veteran, among other things) was just such a plane: it still has a campaign ribbon painted on it’s nose that reads “I Gave So Others Could Fly” ...
Big improvement to the SEMs has been PGM capability. Laser pods for self-designation. I don’t know whether they can deploy GPS guided weapony, most of the time they’re seen carrying GBU-12 class bombs.
The SEMs are good light attack bomb trucks. But they’re close to trapping out at this point.
In contrast an American carrier can recover 20-25 aircraft in a single reccovery sending them all out of the landing area, through dearming and then to the bow. In the daytime that is one aircraft every 35-45 seconds. At night, one per minute.
“But how many of those aircraft were maintenance hogs that spent a LOT of time in the hangar being fixed? I read somewhere that the F/A-18E/Fs have much lower maintence requirements than the F-14s did.”
Don’t tell me about ‘hangar queens’. Comparing yr 2000+ Hornets to mid 90’s Tomcats or Intruders is like comparing WWII Jeeps to Humvees. I was an Intruder Aviation Maintenance Officer. We went > 100 days deployed without going off-ship with a part requisition. Now Naval Aviation is whining about their Hornet E/Fs being worn out. Just get the job done, and stop bitching.
The readiness rates of all aircraft to down with age. The legacy hornet guys that made fun of Tomcat guys are now being made fun of by Super Hornet guys. I am sure Tomcat guys made fun of F-4 guys, who made fun of F-8 guys.
Both the Super Etendard and the Rafale can carry a nuclear-armed supersonic cruise missile.
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