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A Russian warplane this weekend flew over a French warship at low altitude in the eastern Mediterranean, a deliberate breach of international regulations, a French naval source said on Tuesday. The weekly magazine Le Point said the Russian plane had flown over frigate Aquitaine over the weekend and was fully-armed. It also added that the Aquitaine could be used in strikes against the Assad regime. The incident comes as tensions mount between Russia and Western nations following a suspected chemical weapons attack in Syria on April 7. At least 60 people were killed in the attack, according to a Syrian...

USN The French Navy will reportedly retire the last of its Alouette III light helicopters after more than 55 years of service and at least a decade before its scheduled replacement arrives, as the Cold War-era helicopters have become a nightmare to maintain. The service plans to lease Airbus Helicopters AS365 Dauphins to fill the resulting gap until the European consortium's new H160 become available. French newspaper La Tribune first reported the decision on Jan. 19, 2018. At present, the French Navy’s aviation arm, or l'Aéronavale, has fewer than 20 of the aging Alouette IIIs, which first entered service in...

The French Navy now has at its disposal a new sea-based deep-strike capability. The first MdCN naval cruise missiles quietly entered service in February as part of the combat systems carried by the force’s first FREMM multimission frigates. FREMM frigate Provence (© FRENCH NAVY) Six FREMMs to carry cruise missiles by 2019 The French fleet will soon count three FREMM frigates armed with MdCN cruise missiles, the first of their type to be developed in Europe. The Aquitaine and Provence followed by the Languedoc which is scheduled to enter service in a few weeks. By 2019, these three will be...

The French Navy (Marine Nationale) appointed Capitaine de Frégate (Frigate Captain or Commander) Claire Pothier as the commanding officier aboard La fayette class Frigate Guéprate (F714). CDR Pothier becomes the first woman to command a combatant ship in the French Navy. On Friday, January 15, 2016 Squadron Vice-Admiral Denis Beraud, Commander of the French Navy Naval Action Force (ALFAN) appointed Commander Claire Pothier as the Commanding Officer aboard frigate Guépratte in Toulon naval base. Picture: A.Groyer©Marine Nationale CDR Pothier was previously detached to the United States Central Command Headquarters in Tampa, Florida. She graduated as valedictorian (highest ranking student) of...

On August 4, 2015, the French Navy (Marine Nationale) took over full responsibility and the effective command of ballistic missile submarine (SSBN) Le Triomphant (S616). This transfer of responsibility is an important milestone following the refit period started in May 2013 for maintenance, repairs, modernization and adaptation to the M51 new generation submarine launched ballistic missile (SLMB). Le Triomphant will now start some trials at sea before returning in the operational cycle. An NH90 NFH Caiman transfers personnel on board French Navy Le Triomphant class SSBN. Picture: V.Guyoton © Marine Nationale Le Triomphant, head of the class commissioned in 1997,...

In January 2014 a United States Marine Corps (USMC) V22 Osprey landed for the first time onboard the Dixmude, a French Navy Mistral class LHD. The success of this experiment confirmed the full interoperability of Mistral class amphibious vessels with the means implemented by American Expeditionary Strike Groups. The French LHD are indeed fully interoperable with LCAC landing crafts, with heavy helicopters (Sikorsky CH53 Sea Stallion) and now with the Bell-Boeing V22 Opsrey tilt rotor aircraft. A USMC V22 Osprey onboard the French Navy Dixmude LHD Picture: French Navy For about two hours several deck landings were conducted in order...

EXCLUSIVE The aircraft carrier, which is emerging from a long technical stop in Toulon, should reach U.S. ships already off Syria. The Staff of the Armed Forces denied this. According to a source close to the defense minister, the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle will soon reach the "Mediterranean theater somewhere between Cyprus and Syria." The same source indicates that "the decision was made, even if it is not official yet." The nuclear aircraft carrier, the flagship of the Navy, is operational again after a refurbishment carried out during a technical stop for several months at the shipyard DCNS...

A European Premiere: Interception of A Supersonic Sea-Skimming Missile On April 4, 2012, the French navy air-defence frigate Forbin successfully intercepted a supersonic aerial target simulating an incoming supersonic sea-skimming anti-ship missile with its PAAMS (Principal Anti-Air Missile System). The test was carried out under the joint supervision of the navy and the Directorate General of Armaments (DGA). This highly complex engagement – a European first -- demonstrates the ability of the PAAMS anti-aircraft system to protect a carrier battle group against a particularly dangerous threat. The PAAMS, developed under a tripartite cooperation program by France, Italy and the UK,...

Royal Navy pilots forced to learn French Royal Navy fighter pilots are being forced to learn French in order to operate on board France’s flagship aircraft carrier. By Martin Evans 12:18PM BST 12 Jun 2011 The Naval aviators are training with the French, whose jets they may have to use while they await the arrival of the new Joint Strike Fighters, which are unlikely to be delivered before 2020. The first five of 30 Royal Navy pilots have begun French language training at the defence college in Paris before they join the carrier, the Charles de Gaulle, where they will...

On board the pride of the French navy By Jonathan Beale Defence correspondent, BBC News Louis, one of the pilots, gave the BBC an insight into one of his sorties The French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle is operating off the Libyan coast as part of the Nato operation against Colonel Muammar Gaddafi's regime. The BBC got exclusive access on board the pride of the French navy. It is the aircraft carrier Britain no longer has. The Charles de Gaulle is not just the French Navy's flagship. It is a projection of the nation's power that can be deployed almost...

DCNS ramps up FREMM Aquitaine harbour acceptance tests ahead of its first sea going The first-of-class FREMM multi-mission frigate Aquitaine. (Photo: DCNS) 19:27 GMT, March 3, 2011 Lorient | In accordance with the Programme schedule, DCNS is completing equipment integration and harbour acceptance tests on board the first-of-class FREMM multi-mission frigate Aquitaine. All major ship systems must be tested before the major milestone of the first sea going, scheduled next spring. So far 95% of the electrical and hydraulic equipments of the ship have been installed, so teams are ramping up for the harbour acceptance tests of the principal systems:...

France on Tuesday inked a lucrative agreement to sell four Mistral warships to Moscow, with two to be built in Russia, in a move bitterly opposed by ex-Soviet states in the Baltics. The deal for the amphibious assault ships will be the first sale to Russia of such technology by a NATO country. France's NATO allies -- in particular Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia -- have expressed concern about arming Russia with modern Western weaponry. Leaked diplomatic cables showed that US Defence Secretary Robert Gates also raised Washington's concerns while on a visit to Paris last year

The United States voiced concern to France earlier this year over the possible sale of a French warship to Russia, saying it sent a "mixed signal" to both Moscow and Eastern European allies, according to a leaked US document published. In a meeting on February 8 in Paris, US Defense Secretary Robert Gates and his French counterpart at the time, Herve Morin, disagreed over missile defense for Europe and over France's plans to sell the Mistral-class helicopter carrier to Russia, a secret diplomatic cable posted by the WikiLeaks website showed Sunday

France's Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier is now en route to the region and will arrive there at the end of October, when a quarter of the world's nuclear aircraft carriers will gather in the stratgeic waters. The French carrier is accompanied by two frigates, an attack submarine, a re-fuelling tanker, 3,000 sailors and 27 aircraft. "The force would help allied navies fight piracy off the coast of Somalia and send jets to support NATO in the skies above Afghanistan," said the commander of the group, Rear Admiral Jean-Louis Kerignard. This is while new opinion polls show that a vast...

Russia is interested in purchasing Mistral class amphibious assault ships from France only together with the accompanying technology, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said on the eve of a visit to France. Russia is negotiating the purchase of at least one French-built Mistral-class amphibious assault ship and plans to build three more vessels of the same class in partnership with the French naval shipbuilder DCNS. "For us, this deal is interesting only if it is accomplished with a parallel transfer of technology, so that our shipbuilders - both civilian and military - receive a new technological boost for development," Putin said...

As part of interoperability operations with the French Navy, a maintenance crew for the French aircraft Rafale F3 performed a jet engine swap-out on board USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) June 4. The Rafale, a fourth generation fighter jet capable of performing both air-to-air and air-to-ground missions embarked aboard CVN Charles de Gaulle (R 91), was conducting carrier qualifications on board Truman. "The French have conducted many carrier qualifications (CQs) with U.S. aircraft carriers in the past. However, this is the first time that an engine swap-out with a foreign navy has been done on a U.S. carrier," said...

Closing in for the kill, Russia is said to be in final talks to buy a flotilla of four French helicopter-carriers - a deal massive both in terms of the vessels' size and their price tag. "At the moment we are in pre-contract talks on the warships with three states: Spain, the Netherlands and France. We plan to sign a contract for four of these ships," said Russia's Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov. Serdyukov said Russia would like at least three of the vessels to be built with the help of Russian shipbuilders, including one at a Russian shipyard. Talks to...

French anti-aircraft frigate, Chevalier Paul, will take part in tactical maneuvers and anti-aircraft defense exercises with the Russian Northern Fleet Navy on April 3. The Chevalier Paul, a Horizon-class frigate, is arriving on Tuesday to the northern Russian port of Severomorsk to participate in the joint naval exercises; Ria Novosti quoted a Russian Navy spokesman as saying. The Horizon frigate provides local area or extended cover against saturation missile attacks and escort and protect carrier groups. The ship also has powerful anti-submarine and anti-air self defence. Russia plans to buy a Mistral-class ship from France, worth 400-500 million euros (around...

France has offered to create a joint UK-French nuclear deterrent by sharing submarine patrols, the Guardian has learned. Officials from both countries have discussed how a deterrence-sharing scheme might work but Britain has so far opposed the idea on the grounds that such pooling of sovereignty would be politically unacceptable. Britain and France each maintain "continuous at-sea deterrence", which involves running at least one nuclear-armed submarine submerged and undetected at any given time. It is a hugely expensive undertaking, and its usefulness in a post-cold war world has long been questioned by disarmament campaigners. Britain's independent deterrent, based on Trident...

On January 27, France conducted its first test of its new M-51 SLBM (Sea Launched Ballistic Missiles) from a submerged submarine. The first flight test, from land, was in late 2006. Two more such tests were carried out in 2007 and 2008. France is buying 70 M-51 SLBM, at a cost of about $60 million each. The entire program, including development, cost $5.6 billion. The 52 ton missile carries six 100 kiloton nuclear warheads and has a range of 11,000 kilometers. The M-51 is of a new design, the third generation of French SLBMs. France has four SSBNs carrying 16...