The French aircraft carrier deployed for the exercise with Spanish Navy frigate “Cristobal Colon”, U.S. Navy destroyer USS Donald Cook, the French multi-mission frigate (FREMM) “Provence”, the French command and replenishment ship “Marne” and a French Rubis-class nuclear attack submarine. The carrier strike group (CSG) is under the command of Rear-Admiral Olivier Lebas.
The scenario of FANAL19 calls for the CSG (Task Force 473) to face multiple threats in order to carry out naval air operations in multiple domains (projection of air-land power and anti-submarine, anti-surface and anti-air warfare).
FANAL19 marks the Charles de Gaulle’s final pre-deployment preparations following its 18-month mid life refit carried out by Naval Group. The carrier returned to the fleet in November 2018.
Units deployed as part of the TF473:
Aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle and its air wing:
22 Rafale Marine
1 E2C Hawkeye
1 NH90 NFH Caiman
1 Dauphin Pedro
1 Alouette III
FREMM Provence
BCR Marne
1 SNA
USS Donald Cook
SPS Cristobal Colon
The Charles de Gaulle is set to deploy to the Indian and Pacific oceans by the end of the Month or early March.
