France's Sole Aircraft Carrier Is Now Lauching Air Strikes Against Islamic State
The carrier, Charles De Gaulle, is hitting targets in Iraq and Syria.
By Kyle Mizokami
Nov 25, 2015 @ 3:38 PM
The French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle has commenced air strikes against Islamic State targets in Iraq. France's only aircraft carrier, the de Gaulle left its homeport in Toulon on November 18, five days after the Paris terrorist attacks.
Fighter-bombers from the carrier attacked targets near Mosul and Ramadi in Iraq in support of Iraqi ground forces. Targets included a command center and training camp. The carrier has also targeted Islamic State facilities in Raqqa, Syria, including a command center, vehicle storage area, and maintenance facilities.
Charles de Gaulle is the largest naval vessel in western Europe—and the only one powered by nuclear energy. At 38,000 tons it weighs just under a third as much as an American Ford-class aircraft carrier. With a ship's crew of 1,300 and an aircrew of 600, it has about half the personnel of a Ford-class ship.
Charles de Gaulle's air wing consists of mix of fighter 20 Rafale-M multi-role fighters and Super Étendard attack aircraft, two American-made E-2C Hawkeye airborne early warning and control aircraft, and four helicopters. Rafale is France's most modern combat aircraft, with the Rafale-M variant designed to operate off the decks of aircraft carriers. Rafale can carry up to nine tons of weapons on thirteen hard points located on the wings and the fuselage. Weapons that could be used against ISIS targets include the Storm Shadow cruise missile, American Paveway laser-guided bombs, and the French-designed Hammer GPS-guided bomb.
The Super Etendard, meanwhile, is an older attack aircraft capable of engaging targets on the ground with laser-guided bombs and the AS-30L laser-guided missile. It also can refuel Rafales in mid-air using a buddy refueling system, extending their range and allowing them to attack targets farther inland.
Charles de Gaulle is the center of a naval battle group that includes frigates and a Rubis-class nuclear submarine. Providing air defense protection to the carrier is the French Horizon-class frigate Paul Chevalier, The battle group also includes the British air defense destroyer HMS Defender, which can scan 150,000 square miles of airspace and intercept enemy aircraft and cruise missiles.
In addition to the de Gaulle, the French Air Force has a dozen combat aircraft based in Jordan and the UAE in the form of six Rafale and six Mirage 2000 fighters. The operations are being conducted under the umbrella of France's operations against the Islamic State, code-named Operation Chammal.
Here's a video produced by the French military as the carrier arrived on station in the Eastern Mediterranean:
http://www.popularmechanics.com/military/
