Flight International – 11 June 2019

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20 | Flight International | 11-17 June 2019 flightglobal.com

Air wing aboard Charles de Gaulle comprises 18 marine examples for current Clemenceau deployment

Greg Waldron/FlightGlobal

French vessel has also exercised alongside Australia’s HMAS Collins

US Navy

MANOEUVRES GREG WALDRON SINGAPORE

Rafales fulfil mission at sea with gusto

Carrier-based variant excels during multinational exercises involving Indian and Singaporean assets, plus US Navy

D

assault Rafale M fighters

operating from the French

navy aircraft carrier Charles de

Gaulle are performing well during

an epic long-range deployment.

FlightGlobal visited the ship in

Singapore three months into a

cruise that has included the Med-

iterranean Sea, Red Sea, Indian

Ocean and the Straits of Malacca.

The carrier’s 23-strong air

wing comprises 18 Rafale Ms

and a pair of Northrop Grumman

E-2C Hawkeye airborne early

warning and control system

aircraft, plus three Airbus Heli-

copters AS365 Dauphin rotor-

craft. A frigate in the French

strike group also carries an NH

Industries NH90 anti-submarine

warfare helicopter.

Typically, the carrier’s air wing

would include 24 Rafales divid-

ed into two squadrons, but six

aircraft remained in France for

upgrade work. Using a pair of

steam catapults, the ship can

launch one aircraft per minute.

HIGH RELIABILITY

Service reliability for the Rafales

is 95%, says the Charles de

Gaulle’s captain, Marc-Antoine

de Saint Germain.

“This ship and Rafale can work

far away from France with a maxi-

mum of autonomy and without a

huge logistical link,” he says. “We

have many spare parts and many

repair shops aboard. This ship is

really a success for this purpose.

Sustainability is very good. We

have one month before returning

to France. I hope we maintain this

level of serviceability.”

The nuclear-powered carrier

is fresh out of a major upgrade

completed in September 2018.

This focused on better resistance

to cyberattack and electronic

warfare. The voyage is only the

second time the Charles de

Gaulle has deployed with a

fighter element comprising en-

tirely Rafales, following the re-

tirement of the French navy’s

last Dassault Super Etendard

Modernise platforms in 2016.

“Mission Clemenceau, our cur-

rent deployment, is a very impor-

tant effort for France,” says task

force commander Rear Admiral

Olivier Lebas.

“As a carrier strike group we

have operated in areas of strategic

interest through which flows a

large percentage of shipping on

which a large part of world econ-

omy relies.”

PAIRING UP

In the Red Sea, the ship rendez-

voused with the US Navy aircraft

carrier USS Stennis, so that the

pair’s air wings could conduct

dissimilar air combat training.

Rafale Ms conducted touch-and-

go landings aboard the US vessel,

and performed air-to-air refuel-

ling training with Boeing

F/A-18E/F Super Hornets.

The carrier also participated in

the annual Varuna naval exercise

with the Indian navy off the coast

of Goa. This saw the Charles de

Gaulle operate with the INS

Vikramaditya, which operates

RAC MiG-29K fighters.

While the focus of the Varuna

manoeuvres was interoperability,

it also offered New Delhi the

opportunity to observe the Rafale

M in action. The French type is

competing against the Super Hor-

net for a 75-aircraft Indian navy

requirement.

Subsequently, the Charles de

Gaulle exercised with ships

from other nations in the Bay of

Bengal. These included the Japa-

nese navy helicopter carrier JS

Izumo, and Royal Australian

Navy assets including the sub-

marine HMAS Collins.

Following its current port call,

the French strike group will hold

exercises with Singapore’s air

force and navy, prior to a month-

long voyage back to its home port

of Toulon, via the Indian Ocean.

The Charles de Gaulle’s air

wing made headlines in the re-

gion on 20 May, when seven of

its Rafales were forced to divert

to Banda Aceh, Indonesia, in-

stead of recovering to the ship,

which was involved in an exer-

cise 54nm (100km) off the island

of Sumatra.

De Saint Germain says condi-

tions became very cloudy and

windy while the fighters were

airborne, and that it is standard

procedure to have a diversion

airfield in case of bad weather or

an issue aboard the ship.

“This is the normal way to

operate and to ensure that, in the

worst case, there is no ejection of

the pilots. It was not a concern,

but it took a bit of energy to

recover them [to the ship]. We are

trained for it.”

The weather subsequently

cleared, and the fighters returned

to the carrier after spending 10h

on the ground. ■