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| The future French aircraft-carrier "PA2" designed around a common Anglo-French 66,000-ton ship. The new vessel should be commissionned in 2015 © DCNS |
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| Un des premiers Rafale M/F2 vu sur le pont du "CDG" durant les opérations aériennes du printemps 2007 contre les Taliban dans l'est de l'Afghanistan © Marine Nationale |
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Why France needs
a second aircraft-carrier
By Antoine Philippe
in Marseille, France
In view of France's vast budget deficit, should France have two aircraft-carriers? That is a much debated issue, and has been for a long time. However, the matter became central again on the occasion of the presidential elections. To this day, even if the decision is taken in 2007 by the new President to build a second one, the aircraft carrier ought not to be serviced before 2015. Actually, since the mid 1980’s, the topic has kept cropping up in the debate on our defense system, when the question is raised of whether to replace the Clemenceau and the Foch. I will not hark back to the beginning of the whole and long mooted issue (it has spanned one generation already), but it is from now relevant to take a hard look at the arguments in favor of a French Defense system arranged around two aircraft carriers.
These warships are part of the great standard tools available to the State for our Defense; they make up the most visible one in fact, as much as our nuclear deterrence along with its SNLE and bombers. One the one hand, nuclear deterrence protects our country against any major aggression (including one that would aim at wiping France off the map); on the other hand, our aircraft carriers make military operations abroad possible, and these are part and parcel of our Defense policy. Incidentally, aircraft carriers strengthen deterrence thanks to a long-distance striking force, including by means of medium range ASMP cruise missiles and of the ASMP-A – to be implemented by 2010.
The role of an aircraft carrier in crisis-management relies first and foremost on the characteristic features of that weapon, which presents itself as a whole system in its own right: it has the flexibility of a military ship, combined with that of an air force. Aircraft carriers are the ideal ships for action abroad, and they have become the great attribute of state powers wishing to fulfill their ocean ambitions, on a regional or even a world level. Does France still meet these criteria in the 21st century? The answer is a wholehearted yes, since there are two parameters that will never change: geography and our Defense culture.
France opens up on to the Mediterranean Sea, and it enjoys the third largest sea space in the world. It is the only European power present in the Pacific, and can also rely on strategic support in the Indian Ocean, such as those that control the oil routes, a commodity in increasingly short supply, that is bound to stir a lot of covetousness. France can make its presence felt on the American continent as well, and in the Atlantic, from the Guyana to the Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon islands, while maintaining close links with Senegal. Lastly, and this is in fact the most important aspect of it, in accordance with its Defense policy, the use of the French army is first of all a mission aiming at stabilizing tensions and keeping the peace.
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| The future "PA2" seen from above. The "twin castle" lay-out is singular to the common CVF/PA2 design, and is a technical response to electronic side-lobes pollution problems © DCNS |
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| Using the Galileo constellation of satellites, the PA2 will be able to navigate in full autonomy and to provide the ship's aircraft with precise coordinates of their targets, at sea and on the land © CNES |
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The aircraft carrier: a strategic instrument
for France's Defence
The
strategic context that legitimates the use of an aircraft carrier is
that it makes it possible, in times of crises, to project air and naval
forces onto the theatre of operations, an ability that is all the more
vital as 80% of activities in our world take place within 500km of a
littoral area.
In the eyes of its advocates, an aircraft carrier
is at the disposal of the ambitious diplomatic, oceanic and military
policies France is set on developing in Europe and worldwide. Today,
France has only one aircraft carrier and can therefore no longer afford
to give teeth to its declared ambitions, due to a lack of wherewithal
to back them with. Advocating the construction of a second aircraft
carrier means that the sustainable operational presence of the
aero-naval group (GAN – Groupe Aéronaval) – i.e. one aircraft carrier
at sea, along with its own fighter-planes (around 40 of them) and its
escort – is still the cornerstone of our action capabilities abroad. To
this day, the permanent sea presence of the GAN can no longer be
guaranteed by our aircraft carrier alone, the Charles-de-Gaulle, owing
to its unavailability periods (40% of its life span). As for the Air
Force, in spite of its operational competence and new capabilities (the
multipurpose Rafale, equipped with precision weapons), it can no longer
guarantee it can take over on crisis zones, mainly because of the
deployment constraints that exist at the level of air bases on foreign
territories.
The reference period in this respect is from 1960 to
2000, since France had then two big aircraft carriers at its disposal,
the Clemenceau and the Foch. For 40 years, both ships relayed each
other over crisis zones where France deemed it right to intervene: The
Gulf, Djibouti, the Middle-East, the Balkans… It is worth noticing that
the Clemenceau, the Foch, then the Charles-de-Gaulle have all
demonstrated time and again that they were able to adapt to the
strategic departures from the last five decades: de-colonization, the
Cold War, interventions in regional crises and, lastly, responding to
the 9/11 aggressions. Confronted to the British limitations, (small
aircraft carriers only), France determined to endow itself with that
high visibility instrument to act as a European power with global
clout. All the more so as the small aircraft carriers had shown their
operational limitations on the occasion of the Falklands war in 1982.
The aircraft carrier corresponds to the status of France on the
international scene and to the global scope of its security policy. Let
us remember that France is a member of the UNO Security Council, and
that it enjoys a very special geographical situation (what with its
Mediterranean coasts and its overseas possessions: the DOM-TOM, and so
on), that it is committed to several Defense accords and is determined
to remain the powerhouse of European Defense, by means of implementing
key capacities.
In the eyes of France, owning only one aircraft
carrier means no less than being assigned to the role of a second rate
naval power, able to be present only part time on the high seas.
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| The European NH 90 helicopter will replace the old SA 321G Super Frelon mid-size helicopters now some 40-year old © EADS |
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Operational Advantages of the Aero-naval Group
Let
us have a look at the ship's dossier through the perspective of performances,
and examine what an aircraft carrier is able to do. The writers of the
collective book What perspectives for the second French aircraft
carrier? have listed the main ones:
- sovereignty to act, as the ship operates in international waters, outside any diplomatic constraints;
- action can be undertaken while sheltering from terrorist threats and enemy intelligence operations;
- ability to last on the theatre of operations, along with the capacity to revert to fast withdrawal.
An
aircraft carrier can be used as the spearhead of land and air forces,
but also a projection instrument for an airforce in the immediate
vicinity of the theatre of operations, thus reducing the intervention
time periods of assault crafts or rescue teams and material. It is to
be noticed, as well, that such a ship is able to sail over 800 km per
day, and its most interesting feature is its ability to offer a whole
set of configurations to decision-makers, who can act in a way better
suited to the critical situations at hand: implement aircraft,
obviously, but also introduce helicopters, troops, sanitary means, etc.
In
this respect, France can present another argument to advocate the
building of a second aircraft carrier: the Charles-de-Gaulle itself.
The ship, along with its aircraft group, were serviced in 2001 and have
since demonstrated the efficiency of that reliable, tried and tested
tool – using laser guided weapons – in the Indian Ocean, in support of
Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. Thanks to it, France can
boast indisputable expertise in modern aero-naval operations, and is
the only nation able to measure up to the USA, except in terms of
volume, obviously. The combination of the Rafale, the NH90 and E-2C
Hawkeye helicopters, along with a whole array of precision air to
ground weapons, is empowering the French with the sustainability that
is required of their operational know-how – which is unique in Europe.
A very varied range of missions
From
now on, a large range of scenarios are imaginable, with the aircraft
carrier proving to be the operational tool for major strategic
functions within a comprehensive defense system (information, command,
strike, logistics support, mobility) :
- air support from the sea to
ground forces covering all the aspects of a crisis (peace, crisis,
engagement, restoration of peace, peace keeping operations);
- command of naval forces;
- protection of sea traffic and control of sea activities (to fight against terrorism);
- humanitarian support, extraction of nationals out of an unsafe zone;
- sea intelligence and towards ground forces;
- nuclear deterrence by means of air to ground nuclear missiles embarked on board.
Besides
specific missions to support the French Defense policies, these
missions fit in with the ones defined by NATO and the EU, in this
particular case, the so-called Petersberg missions, taken into account
in the Treaty of Amsterdam.
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Military characteristics of the 'PA2' aircraft carrier (R92)
Aircraft: 30/35 Rafale fighter-bombers, 2/3 E-2C Hawkeye EAW&C and 5/8 helicopters.
Armament : ASMP-A nuclear missiles, SCALP-EG cruise
missiles with conventional warheads, Exocet AM 39 air to sea
anti-ship missiles, air to ground laser guided precision weapons
(Paveway II & III) or inertial /GPS (AASM) bombs, MU90 torpedoes, Magic
II and MICA air to air missiles, anti submarine weapons. Reco NG image reconnaissance pods. Special forces and commandos.
Embarked situation intelligence systems.
Integrated on-board self-protection measures, advanced EW systems, anti-air missiles (Mistral/Aster), and automatic weapons.
Command Capacities relevant to a naval force.
Crew: 1 700 men and women.
Displacement: 66 000 tonnes
Dimension: 283 m (against 261, 5 m dor the CDG)
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| While a fourth aircraft is in consideration, The Aéronavale's three up-dated Hawkeye 2000s will be a key tool on-board the 'PA2' © J.-M. Guhl |
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The development of big and small aircraft-carriers in Europe
and throughout the world
Another
factor encouraging France to build two aircraft carriers results from
the present and expected proliferation in terms of aircraft carriers
and small carriers all over the world. Without a second aircraft
carrier, France is liable to find itself relegated to the rank of a
second rate power among the great global powers, and its international
standing would be seriously mitigated, to say the least.
The USA
alone have got 24 aircraft carriers, i.e. twelve 100 000-tonne giant
carriers able to accommodate 80 to 90 aircraft to which can be added 12
combat amphibious small aircraft carriers. Washington expects to
maintain and modernize that aero-naval force, considered as the most
powerful in the world. The United Kingdom has planned the building of
two small aircraft carrier (to be serviced by 2015) to replace the
present ships.
Spain can boast one small aircraft carrier, and
another one, whose capacities will be greater, is to be built by 2008.
On the same model, Italy has got a small aircraft carrier, and a second
much bigger one is due to join the Navy next year.
Russia and India
own one big aircraft carrier each. Several other regional powers have
decided to join the “club”, and have planned to upgrade their military
navy mainly based on small aircraft carriers or helicopter carriers.
South Korea is about to arm two helicopter carriers (due by 2007 and
2010). Japan flaunts three large helicopter carriers, while Thailand
has purchased one small helicopter carrier. Australia is about to
acquire a large small-aircraft carrier. As for Brazil, it is proud of
its Sao Paulo, the French former Foch aircraft carrier. China does not
lag behind in the present race: with the wealth generated by its fast
expanding economy, it intends to build two large aircraft carriers, to
be serviced by 2015. They are allegedly to be armed with 30 aircraft.
Aircraft carriers and inter-allies cooperation
Some
political leaders are toying with the idea, an a priori attractive
proposition, of using an aircraft carrier in common with other
countries within the EU or of hiring one from the British, during the
times when the Charles-de-Gaulle is not available. This evinces a very
inaccurate knowledge of the dossier, both for technical and political
reasons.
Today, France has already made the choice of building
that second ship, in cooperation with the United Kingdom, actually, on
the basis of the scheme adopted by the Royal Navy, which has planned to
build two ships. However, even though the French and the British
projects will have the same hull in common, the two ships will be
designed to accommodate quite different aircraft: the JSF F-35, a
US-based American one, with vertical take-off as far as the British are
concerned, and the multipurpose Rafale in the case of France. In the
Royal Navy, the ship will have a reclining ramp for the take-off phase.
When coming back from their missions, the fighters will land
vertically, just like helicopters. Such a ship will be absolutely
unable to accommodate the Rafale fighters, since they need a catapult
to take off, and arresting wires for landing, and these devices are not
to be installed on board the two British aircraft carriers.
At the
political level, the idea of the joint building of the ships would mean
France would altogether give up its sovereignty in terms of foreign
policy and Defense. However, the most crucial options France has chosen
might well depart from the ones preferred by the United Kingdom, as the
Iraq crisis has been enough evidence of. By the way, have the British
and the other Europeans been asked what they thought? As for the
French, they officially gave their answer on the future of Europe … on
29 May 2005. On that occasion, a great majority of French citizens
simply turned down Europe with a plain “No”.
Besides, due to its
configuration (catapults, arresting wires, and its flat deck), the
concept of the French aircraft carrier is the only one in the world
that is compatible with the ones in the USA, hence making it possible
to organize a joint command of operations. In this respect, it is to be
noticed that the French Navy boasts the same E-2C Hawkeye radar
aircraft as the US Navy (the Group II version, to be quite accurate).
That aircraft provides the structure of the command of an aero naval
operation, and its very efficient electronics enables it to control the
air space over a radius of 500 km. France has three of these at its
disposal, and they have been allocated to the 4F Flotilla.
The
French Navy ships are already able to be operated within NATO from a
technical point of view (especially in terms of tactical data), as well
as at procedure level. Our European allies, besides, are well-equipped
in modern frigates and supply ships. Therefore, they have the
capability of escorting our aircraft carrier, a mission they have
performed successfully several times (in the Balkans, the Indian
Ocean). That is where inter-allies cooperation can take place, and it
is also at that juncture that the European means can be managed on a
mutual basis. This is not to say that the French Navy should, for all
that, forsake its capacity to protect our greatest units, witness the
equipping schedules in modern Horizon and FREMM type frigates, or then
again the modernization of its powerful fleet, dedicated to anti-mine
war.
The cost of the second aircraft carrier
The estimated
figure for the PA2 — likely to be named Richelieu, the cardinal who created the Marine Royale under French king Louis XIII — reaches the €2.5b mark, an amount that is to be
staggered throughout the duration of its building, planned to last
between 6 and 8 years. The observers of the debate around the French
presidential elections will have noticed that the ship would involve
less than 0.4 % of the Education budget. It could be serviced in 2015,
coinciding with the second Scheduled Interruption for Maintenance and
Repair (Deuxième Interruption Programmée pour Entretien et Réparation, IPER)
of the Charles-de-Gaulle. Moreover, the French tax-payers have already
footed the bill for the planes to be allocated to that second ship.
They have already been serviced or have been ordered, pending delivery:
38 Marine Rafale fighters have been ordered and 12 already delivered,
out of the targeted 60 of them, three E-2C Hawkeye radar aircraft are
already available, as well as the helicopters, which are to be
reinforced by 2010 with a few NH90. France already has all the weapons
necessary to the operations of the air group (naval patrol aircraft and
support ships), as well as the satellites warranting the sovereignty of
the action of the GAN: SYRACUSE (telecommunications) and Hélios
(intelligence and accurate sighting of objectives). To sum up, in order
to ensure the permanent sea-presence of the Aero Naval Group, what is
left to do is order a supplementary number of Rafale fighters…plus the
aircraft carrier itself!
Main book references:
Jean-Michel Guhl, Le Charles-de-Gaulle et son groupe aérien embarqué
(SPE Barthélémy, 2005).
Pierre Pascallon, Quelles perspectives pour le deuxième porte-avions français ?
(L’Harmattan, 2000).
Bernard Prezelin, Flottes de combat 2006
(Editions Maritimes & d’Outre mer - Edilarge, 2006)
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