France still aims to build new carrier, says Parly
The PANG programme to replace Charles de Gaulle awaits presidential confirmation
France remains committed to providing its navy with new aircraft carrier to replace Charles de Gaulle, the country’s defence minister Florence Parly has said, although there has still been no official confirmation that the programme will proceed.
The new carrier would be built by Chantiers de l'Atlantique in Saint-Nazaire and launched in 2036 to enter service in 2038, Florence Parly added in a speech on 19 October during the opening day of the virtual Euronaval trade show.
In service since 2001, Charles de Gaulle is the only aircraft carrier in the French Navy. It is expected to be decommissioned in 2038.
However, the final decision to approve the programme (called PANG) rests with President Emmanuel Macron. An official announcement was due this year but it has been delayed by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
The French Senate published a report on PANG in June 2020, in which it stated: ‘A technical-operational study and a sketch study were entrusted to groups of industrialists. They were completed last February. The President of the Republic should soon validate, in the Defence Council, various technological and financial options, as well as a project timetable.’
Preliminary studies into building a new aircraft carrier were launched in October 2018 and a successor to Charles de Gaulle is enshrined in the 2019-2025 French military planning programme.
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