French Navy press release – Translated by Naval News
Placed under the command of Rear Admiral Jacques Mallard, the CSG was composed of the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle, the new force supply vessel (BRF) Jacques Chevallier, a multi-mission frigate (FREMM), an air defence frigate (FDA) and a nuclear-powered attack submarine. Escorts from allied navies (Italian, Greek and Portuguese ) were integrated into the CSG, allowing it to maintain common abilities to conduct complex operational engagements in coalition and at short notice. Nearly 3,000 French and allied soldiers were committed to contributing to NATO’s defensive and dissuasive posture on the eastern flank of Europe.
From April 26 to May 10, CSG was placed under NATO operational control for the first time as part of activity Neptune Strike 24 to conduct surveillance and reconnaissance missions and maintain our level of operational readiness as well as our interoperability. These activities made it possible to interact with the Italian, Greek, Croatian, Romanian, English, Turkish, Spanish and Bulgarian navies and to carry out air missions, particularly in Germany and Romania.
From May 16 to 23, the CSG participated in the high-intensity Italian exercise Mare Apeto 24.1, within which the Polaris approach carried by the French Navy was introduced this year, to strengthen the combat preparation of the participating navies during planning and conducting a targeted maritime operation in a realistic, multi-domain scenario. The two forces, French and Italian, comprised 42 surface ships, 6 submarines and 52 aircraft.
From the Balearic Sea to the Ionian Sea via the Strait of Messina and the mouths of Bonifacio, the CSG traveled 10,000 nautical miles (or 18,400 km) during Akila mission. The 18 Rafale Marine and the 2 Hawkeyes of the air group were catapulted 650 times from the aircraft carrier to complete 1000 hours of flight, the 5 helicopters of the force flew 200 times, or 300 hours and the ATL2, stationed in Souda (Crete) has completed 12 missions for 90 hours of flight. In total, the aircraft flew 1500 hours.
The Akila mission was the first operational mission in which the BRF Jacques Chevallier participated, which resupplied 35 French and allied buildings, including 32 from the CSG. This mission also allowed the experimentation of refueling and reloading of Aster missiles at sea, a transfer of material by drone between escorts, and the remote damage repair experiment organized by Fleet Support Service.
These two successive operational activities made it possible to maintain a high level of interoperability with NATO forces and to prepare for a high-intensity symmetrical naval engagement with our allies, in a multi-environment and multi-field logic.
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