| |
French Aircraft carrier
Charles de Gaulle (R 91) |
|
| Country:
France |
|
Type: Aircraft carrier |
| Service:
2001 - 2008 |
| Ordered: 3 February 1986 |
| Laid down: 14 April 1989 |
| Launched: 7 May 1994 |
| Commissioned: 18 May 2001 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Charles de Gaulle (R91) is the only active French aircraft carrier and is the flagship of the French Navy (Marine Nationale). She is the tenth French aircraft carrier, the first French nuclear-powered surface vessel and the first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier built outside of the United States.
The ship carries a complement of Dassault Rafale M and E-2C Hawkeye aircraft, as well as modern electronics and Aster missiles. She is the second largest European carrier, after the Admiral Kuznetsov, and the most powerful European aircraft carrier, until the introduction of the Queen Elizabeth class aircraft carriers. It is a CATOBAR-type carrier that uses the same catapult system as that installed on the US Nimitz class carriers, the 75 m C13-3 steam catapult.
|
| Displacement: | 38,000 tons empty
42,000 tons full load | | Length: | 261.5 m overall | | Beam: | 64.36 m overall | | Draft: | 9.43 m | | Propulsion: | 2 x K15 Pressurised Water Reactor (PWR) 150 MW each
4 x Diesel-electric
2 x shafts | | Speed: | 27 knots (50 km/h) | | Range: | Unlimited | | Endurance: | 45 days of food | | Capacity: | 800 commandos, 500 tonnes of ammunitions | | Complement: | Ship: 1,350
Air Wing: 600 | | Radar: | DRBJ 11 B tridimensional air search radar
DRBV 26D air search radar
DRBV 15C low altitude air search radar
Arabel target acquisition radar | Electronic warfare
and decoys: | ARBR 21 Detector
ARBB 33 Countermeasures suite
ARBG2 MAIGRET Interceptor
4 x Sagaie decoys launcher
SLAT (Systeme de lutte anti-torpille) torpedo countermeasures | | Armament: | 4 x 8 cell SYLVER launchers carrying the MBDA Aster 15 surface to air missile.
2 x 6 cell Sadral launchers carrying Mistral short range missiles
8 x Giat 20F2 20 mm cannons. | | Aircraft carried: | 40 aircraft, including
Rafale
Super Etendard
E-2C Hawkeye
SA365 Dauphin helicopters. |
|
