Charles de Gaulle completes midlife refit

Naval Group has delivered the Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier to the French Navy after the completion of its €1.3 billion midlife refit, the company announced on 8 November. The vessel will now start ramping up its systems before returning to operations.

The in-depth renovation of the carrier was performed to ensure the vessel’s operational performance for the next 25 years. The programme modernised the combat system, including the modernisation of the tactical system, installation of new digital networks, complete replacement of the control room, renovation of the telecommunications systems, and replacement of the air search and navigation radars.

Secondly, the modernisation of the aviation installations covered all the necessary modifications to switch to an all-Rafale setup including modification and renovation of the aviation spaces, and renovation or replacement of deck-landing systems.

The third component of the refit included the modernisation of the vessel control PLCs, renovation of the automatic stabilisation and steering control system, replacement of two units of the vessel’s cooling system, and refit of the control simulator and one galley.

Deep maintenance of major installations was also carried out.

The programme was conducted by Team France, which included the DGA, French Navy and SSF. Naval Group worked with defence original equipment manufacturers TechnicAtome, Thales and Safran.