Carrier Operation of French Navy

Charles de Gaulle is the flagship of the French Navy (Marine Nationale) and the largest western European warship currently in commission. She is the tenth French aircraft carrier, the first French nuclear-powered surface vessel, and the first and so far only nuclear-powered carrier completed outside of the United States Navy . She is named after French statesman and general Charles de Gaulle .

The ship carries a complement of Dassault-Breguet Super Étendard, Dassault Rafale M and E‑2C Hawkeye aircraft, EC725 Caracal and AS532 Cougar helicopter for combat search and rescue, as well as modern electronics and Aster missiles. It 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 U.S. Nimitz-class aircraft carriers, one catapult at the bow and one across the front of the landing area. Thanks to her characteristics,Charles de Gaulle is the only non-American carrier-vessel in the world empowered to operate American aircraft such as the F/A-18E Super Hornet or C-2 Greyhound, which operate from American carrier-vessels.

Screen Shot of the Technological Advances installed aboard CVN-78

In a forum a retired USN Captain (verified) made this comment on the apparent condition of the Hull of CVN-78:

Most of the corrosion that hull will ever see is right before your eyes. Once all of the welds and other annealing processes are complete, the hull will be "bead blasted 'white'," and then the coats of red lead primer and haze gray will be applied. Partly this is because of the great cost incurred in dealing with pollution laws these days. Repainting piecemeal over new welds repeatedly will affect the bottom line. So, they sort of do it in one fell swoop, and incur those costs only once.

..and that's that.. 

Russia to Build Its First Nuclear Powered Aircraft Carrier by 2023

Russia will complete construction of its first nuclear powered aircraft carrier by 2023, the head of Russia’s United Shipbuilding Corporation said. 

Russian Project 1143.8 class Carrier

“We will start designing the Russian aircraft carrier in 2016, so that by 2018 we can start construction,” company head Roman Trotsenko said. He also said that as the construction period was likely to be five years, the carrier would be put into service in 2023.

The Russian navy has one conventionally powered aircraft carrier, the Admiral Kuznetsov, construction of which began during the Soviet era and finished in the early 1990s. President Dmitry Medvedev said in 2008 that Russia would build new carriers for the navy but did not specify how they would be powered.

by Oleg Lastochkin (RiaNovosti)

China to Build 110,000-ton Aircraft Carrier, Rival to the Ford of the US

China to build 110,000-ton aircraft carrier rival to US the Ford

According to top PLA source, China’s future homegrown aircraft carrier will be bigger and more combat effective than the Liaoning. Recent provocation by the US in sending a warship into the inner-defense area of Chinese aircraft carrier battle group, has caused China to be more resolute in its decision to make aircraft carriers comparable with the Ford, the best aircraft carrier of the US.

The new aircraft carrier will be deployed with J-31s, China’s fifth-generation fighter jets.

China’s first homemade conventional aircraft carrier with 50,000 to 60,000 ton displacement will be commissioned in 2015, but may be in service by 2014 if its construction goes on smoothly.

It is expected that China’s nuclear aircraft carrier will be in service by 2020. By that time, China will be able to confront the most advanced US carrier-based fighter jets in high sea.

In spite of their lack of experience, Chinese scientific research personnel have the ambition to overcome various difficulties to master lots of new technologies and techniques in building China’s own powerful aircraft carrier. The development and construction of such aircraft carriers will make great contributions in improving China’s machinery and shipbuilding industries.

Source: qianzhan.com “Exposure of China’s construction of 110,000-ton aircraft carrier, rival to the Ford, as a ‘floating city’” (summary by Chan Kai Yee based on the report in Chinese)

Related posts:

• The Mystery of China’s Homegrown Aircraft Carriers dated October 3, 2012
• China: Section of Aircraft Carrier Built to Attract Navy Contract for New Aircraft Carrier dated August 11, 2013
• China Secretly Developing Huge 180,000-ton Double Hull Aircraft Carrier dated October 6, 2013
• 300,000-ton Dock Yard Built in Dalian for Construction of Aircraft Carrier dated October 22, 2013
• China Got Drawings of Nuclear Aircraft Carrier from Russia for Crazy Navy Buildup November 8, 2013
• Exposure of Structural Drawings of Aircraft Carrier Being Built in Shanghai dated November 25, 2013