Future French aircraft carrier

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Career (FR)
Impression of the future French aircraft carrier
Ordered:	2007 (expected)
Laid down:	2009 (projected)
Launched:	2011 (projected)
Commissioned:	2015 (projected)
Status:	Advanced level design
General Characteristics
Displacement:	75,000 tons full load
Length:	283 m overall
Beam:	73 m overall
Draft:	11.5 m
Propulsion:	Two RR MT-30 Gaz turbine 4 diesel-eletric two shafts
Speed:	25 knots (46 km/h)
Range:	10,000 nautical miles at 15 knots
Complement:	Ship's Company: 1,000 Air Wing: 650
Sensors and processing systems:	Héracles air search and target acquisition radar
Armament:	two 8 cell SYLVER launchers carrying the MBDA Aster 15 surface to air missile. Giat 20F2 20 mm cannons.
Aircraft carried:	48 aircraft, including Rafale E-2C Hawkeye *NH-90 helicopters.

PA2 (Porte-Avions 2) is a planned new aircraft carrier developed for the French Navy by Thales Naval France and DCN from the Thales UK/BMT design for the future British aircraft carriers CV(F). The vessel will displace approximately 75,000 tonnes, will be based in Toulon, Var, France and will complement the current French carrier, Charles de Gaulle.

1 Background
2 Design
- 2.1 Propulsion
3 Construction
4 Political aspect
5 References
6 See also
7 Pictures

[edit] Background

The previous French carriers, Foch and Clemenceau were completed in 1961 and 1963 respectively; the requirement for a replacement was identified in the mid-1970s. This replacement became the 35,500 tonne Charles de Gaulle, laid down in April 1989 at the DCN Brest naval shipyard. The carrier was completed in May 1994, however it was not officially commissioned until 2001 due to a large number of problems. These included the need to lengthen the flight deck after aircraft trials, a broken propeller and vibration/noise problems. The French Navy was understood to be unwilling to proceed with another carrier of the same design and by 2003 the possibility of sharing the Royal Navy design emerged to fulfil the French requirement for a second carrier.

The requirement for the carriers was confirmed by Jacques Chirac in 2004 for the centennial of the Entente Cordiale and on January 26 2006 the defence ministers of France and Britain reached an agreement regarding cooperation on the design of their future carriers. France has agreed to pay the UK for access to the design due to the investment made to date. These payments are £30m immeditately, £25m in July 2006 and a further £45m if France decides to proceed with the project. ^[1]

[edit] Design

An alliance of Thales and DCN will develop and build the aircraft carriers from the Thales/BMT design selected for the CVF. Thales and DCN have proposed a 283 m long, 75,000 tonnes variant of the CVF. While the UK in-service dates of 2012 and 2015 for their two carriers have been announced, the construction timetable for the French ship has not been disclosed although 2015 is rumoured. Charles de Gaulle requires refit and refuelling of its nuclear reactors around this time. ^[2]

The vessels will be the largest and most powerful surface warships outside of the US Navy. The UK has chosen to continue to use STOVL aircraft for its new carrier; however, the fact that they chose an "adaptable" design which could be reconfigured for future CTOL operation means that the design is suitable for the French Navy. The french version is designed to operate the Dassault Rafale, the E-2C Hawkeye and the NH-90. It is a CATOBAR design, and the catapult used will be of the same models as installed on the Nimitz class supercarriers, C13-2 steam catapult, 90m long.The vessels are expected to be capable of carrying over 32 Rafales, three Hawkeye and five NH-90 support/anti-submarine helicopters. The crew will be about 1650, instead of 1950 in the Charles de Gaulle, indicating the high level of automation being integrated into the ships' systems.

[edit] Propulsion

The price of accepting the British design is accepting a conventionally powered ship; the British government rejected nuclear propulsion as too costly. The idea of renouncing nuclear propulsion in this way is seen as a backward step for French technology. However, the numerous problems with the propulsion system of the Charles de Gaulle and the fact that the design was tailored to the Royal Navy's requirements leaves little choice.

The carrier's propulsion system will be Integrated Full Electric Propulsion (IFEP) based on two Rolls-Royce MT30 gas turbines. The optimum location for the position of the main propulsion system is being examined, with maximising the hangar space below decks a major consideration. The range of the carrier will be 10,000 nautical miles (19,000 km).

[edit] Construction

The hull is likely to be built by Chantiers de l'Atlantique at Saint Nazaire, and fitting out will be by DCN at Brest. The ships are likely to be based at Toulon naval base where two huge dry docks are available to accommodate even a Nimitz-class aircraft carrier.

[edit] Political aspect

The Future French aircraft carrier was the centre of a declarations of intentions by the candidates of the campaign or the French presidential election of 2007. Nicolas Sarkozy and Jean-Marie Le Pen, notably, took position in favour of the project, while Ségolène Royal and Olivier Besancenot suggested affecting the funding to Education and elderly care, respectively. François Bayrou suggested that the aircraft carrier be constructed in collaboration with European partners, as a vanguard project for an integrated European defence.