Design work on the French Navy’s next-generation nuclear-powered aircraft carrier (CVN) is close to complete, with the programme approaching a key approval milestone to transition into its manufacture phase, according to the Marine Nationale’s programme officer.
Speaking at the Navy Leaders CNE 2025 event in Farnborough on 21 May, Captain Thibault Lavernhe said a political decision to move ahead with the as yet unnamed Porte-avions de nouvelle génération (PA-Ng) would be made by the end of this year. He went on to outline plans for the ship to operate with a hybrid manned/unmanned carrier air wing.
Intended to replace the French Navy’s current CVN Charles de Gaulle from 2038, the PA-Ng programme was approved to enter a two-phase design and development activity back in December 2020. The Direction générale de l’armement (DGA) and industrial prime contractor MO Porte-Avions (a joint venture of Naval Group and Chantiers de l’Atlantique) have subsequently undertaken preliminary design and system design activities to mature the PA-Ng design ahead of approval for build; TechnicAtome is separately responsible, under contract to the Commissariat à l’énergie atomique, for the design and delivery of the nuclear plant (using two K-22 pressurised water reactors).
“2025 is a major milestone for the programme,”
Captain Thibault Lavernhe, PA-Ng Program Officer, Marine Nationale.
“The Ministry of Defence will decide by the end of the year to launch the realisation of the programme.“
“Today, the ship is designed on paper. We know what we want from the French Navy, it is now just a matter of a political decision to step forward.”
Design and development activity completed over the past four years has resulted in a 78,000-tonne displacement ship with an overall length of 310 metres and a beam of approximately 90 metres. Sized around an embarked air group comprising 30 combat aircraft, plus other fixed and rotary-wing aircraft, key characteristics of the PA-Ng design includes ship-wide electrification of power systems and equipment, a single integrated island superstructure, a three-track Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS), a three-wire Advanced Arrestor Gear (AAG) recovery system, two hangars, and two deck-edge aircraft elevators (each with a 40 tonne lift capacity) offset to starboard.
Ship size, and the configuration of the 17,200m2 flight deck, has been driven by the requirements of the embarked air group. “The [PA-Ng] is tailored for an air wing of 30 fighters or unmanned combat air vehicles [UCAVs], three E-2D Hawkeyes and five to six helicopters,” Captain Lavernhe said.
“We will have a traditional [angled] flight deck, but with the island aft and not forward as it is on the Charles de Gaulle,” he added. “We will also have the ability to recover aircraft while launching which is a big game changer compared to Charles de Gaulle where we cannot do both at the same time.
“This flex deck ability [to launch while recovering] is key to flexibility [because] it is an enabler for continuous air ops but also it gives the ability to launch combat air patrols at short notice at any time. That is not possible today.”
He added that the size and configuration of the flight deck is optimised to support a massive strike of 27 fighters and two E-2Ds. “We will have enough fuel and munitions onboard to sustain high intensity combat operations, with many combat sorties, for more than a week before [replenishing].”
Captain Lavernhe noted that the design of the flight deck – incorporating ammunition ‘highways’ and ‘farms’ – had taken careful account the need to reduce the turnaround time for aircraft re-arming. “Having space on the flight deck is not enough. You also need to store and quickly move a large number of munitions within the ship.
“So ammunition elevators and bays have been tailored to the [flight deck]. We will also be able to have missile farms and bomb farms on the flight deck, which again is not the case on Charles de Gaulle.”
Another key difference, according to Captain Lavernhe, will be the number of personnel on deck during flying operations. “When you have such a big flight deck, and when you want to generate air power, you have to have enough yellow jerseys on the deck. Again, that will be a big change from Charles de Gaulle.”
The General Atomics-built EMALS and AAG equipments intended to equip PA-Ng are the subject of a US Foreign Military Sales case. “We have [recently] started a campaign at Lakehurst in the US to test the compatibility between the Rafale aircraft and the American aircraft launch and recovery equipment,” said Captain Lavernhe. “This is a big step for us, and we expect a big increase in efficiency [particularly] in the maximum take-off weight for fighters. It will be several tonnes more than we can do now on Charles de Gaulle.”
The French Navy has already scoped a broad plan for the evolution of the PA-Ng air wing, recognising that plans for a next generation of crewed and uncrewed combat air capabilities are still developing. The expectation is that the new carrier will enter service with the Rafale M at F5 standard, the E-2D Hawkeye, and unmanned air vehicles (UAVs).
According to Captain La Lavernhe, it is anticipated that a carrier-compatible UCAV will augment the air group from around 2040. “It will be, above all, a ‘Loyal Wingman’ to the Rafale, [providing] a capability to pass through enemy air defences and to deliver air power in contested environments.”
Looking further forward, the French Navy expects to see a marinized Next Generation Fighter, plus associated remote carrier adjuncts, come on board around 2045. “These will operate for a few years alongside Rafale, UCAVs and the E-2D,” said Captain Lavernhe. “So around [that period] we will have the maximum ‘hybridity’ of the air wing on board PA-Ng.”
He added that the design decision to install two EMALS tracks forward had been taken “in order to be able to operate UCAVs alongside manned aircraft, because it will not be the same launching procedures [for both aircraft types].”
Current plans envisage assembly of PA-Ng starting at Chantiers de l’Atlantique in St Nazaire in 2032. The ship will then transfer to Toulon in mid-2035 to finish outfitting work and be fuelled prior to commencing sea trials in 2036.
Ahead of a green light to move forward with the build programme, the DGA in April 2024 placed orders worth €600 million for the procurement of ‘critical path’ equipments and structures from MO Porte-Avions and TechnicAtome. These long lead items include reactor components, containment vessels and secondary steam plant.
