It is a chorus that comes up regularly. While Italy plans to build a nuclear aircraft carrier by 2040, and China is about to put its fourth ship of this type in the water, the debate remains lively in France. The relevance of a successor to Charles de Gaulleexpected by 2040, is still the subject of discussions.
Last October, the Minister of the Armed Forces, Sébastien Lecornu, assured that “ The year 2025 will be that of ordering »From the next flagship. Even if the new generation aircraft carrier (PANG) has been confirmed in the Military Programming Law (LPM), the General Delegation for Armament has not yet signed a order form with Naval Group.
At the same time, the deputies Thomas Gassilloud (Renaissance) and Damien Girard (EELV) evoke, in a parliamentary report, the possibility of postponing the launch of the program, or even extending the life of the life of Charles de Gaulle. The reason? A postponement of a few years of the PANG-the cost of which is estimated at 10 billion euros-would make it possible to generate budgetary margins to strengthen more urgent capacities, such as intelligence, cybersecurity, acquisition of ammunition, drones or even soil-to-air defense systems.
“An savings deposit allowing to finance in particular the new frigates”
“” The resurgence of high intensity conflicts, the development of hybrid threats and the uncertainty of American support replace at the heart of the priorities the imperative of conventional mass ”, underlines the report, defining this notion as “The ability to permanently initiate significant volumes of forces, equipment and ammunition ».
Strengthen hunting aviation
Shopping the purchase of the aircraft carrier would also make it possible to acquire heavier equipment. The two deputies thus recall in their document a proposal made last February by the Minister of the Armed Forces, Sébastien Lecornu, who had mentioned the need to strengthen hunting aviation with an additional “thirty”.
For the navy, Gassilloud and Girard plead for an eighteen first-row frigates, which would involve the order of three additional defense and intervention frigates (FDI). “” Such an operation would constitute a deposit of savings to finance in particular the new frigates ”explains the report, while public finances are at its lowest. Currently, ” France does not have the means of its ambitions », We underline on the side of Bercy.
“In the defense industry, a few months become several years”
This report is ” An excellent idea, given the evolution of weapons systems and arms needs “Consives General Dominique Trinquand, former military leader of the Mission to the UN in New York. Former army officer, this expert in international relations is wondering about ” the usefulness of an aircraft carrier in the face of current threats in Europe ».
Risk of industrial disorganization
However, repelling such an order would also have consequences on the French industrial tool. “” We sometimes talk about a few months of gap. But in the defense industry, a few months become several years. These are entire channels of skills, know-how and sovereignty that we weaken », Alert Yannick Chenevard, Varian deputy and rapporteur of the national navy budget.
The elected official notably underlines that prolonging the life of Charles de Gaulle “” would involve reworking Technicatome on K15 boiler rooms, to the detriment of the development of K22, essential to the future new generation aircraft carrier ”. This choice would pose “A risk of major industrial disorganization “, He adds, militant for construction not one, but two pangs.
Finally, after almost 40 years of service, in the event that Charles de Gaulle could not prolong its missions, France will find itself without aircraft carriers. “” On the international scene, it would be a terrible admission of weakness. We would give the image of a regressing country, and this is not acceptable “Breathe an old admiral.
In the event that the program is actually offset, Damien Girard sees it as an opportunity to consider ” The construction of two pangs likely to be Europeanized in the context of an interoperable European squadron, in the service of European strategic autonomy ». But while European cooperation is already struggling to end up on the fighting plane project of the future (SCAF), the idea of a European aircraft carrier remains, for the time being, difficult to imagine …
