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France

The French Navy operates the 42,000-tonne nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, Charles de Gaulle. Commissioned in 2001, she is the flagship of the French Navy. The ship carries a complement of Dassault Rafale M and E-2C Hawkeye aircraft, EC725 Caracal and AS532 Cougar helicopters for combat search and rescue, as well as modern electronics and Aster missiles. She is a CATOBAR -type carrier that uses two 75 m C13-3 steam catapults of a shorter version of the catapult system installed on the US Nimitz -class carriers, one catapult at the bow and one across the front of the landing area. In addition, the French Navy operates three Mistral -class amphibious assault ships.

In October 2018, the French Ministry of Defence began an 18-month study for €40 million for the eventual future replacement of the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle beyond 2030. In December 2020, President Macron announced that construction of the next generation carrier would begin in around 2025 with sea trials to start in about 2036. The carrier is planned to have a displacement of around 75,000 tons and to carry about 32 next-generation fighters, two to three E-2D Advanced Hawkeyes and a yet-to-be-determined number of unmanned carrier air vehicles.