Britain, France May Cooperate on Aircraft Carrier Programs

Sea Power, Apr 2004

French President Jacques Chirac announced Feb. 13 that France's second aircraft carrier would be conventionally powered, instead of nuclear powered as is the nation's other carrier, Charles de Gaulle. This decision opened a pathway for closer cooperation with the British future aircraft carrier program.

The French decision to go with a non-nuclear carrier comes as Britain searches for ways to keep costs down on its own carrier program. According to the British Ministry of Defence, any cooperation with France would be at the industry level in order to save costs and would not take on the character of a joint procurement.

British and French defense powerhouses such as BAE Systems and Thales already work together on other defense programs. Additional cooperation may be a positive move for both nations' industrial bases. There are several potential areas for cooperation, such as command-and-control systems, propulsion and other hull, mechanical and electrical systems.

However, the challenge in cooperating on aircraft carrier programs is that each country has selected a different primary aircraft: the Joint Strike Fighter for Britain, the Rafale F3 for France.

In January 2003, BAE Systems was selected as prime contractor designate for Britain's future carrier, with its rival Thales brought on board to provide the whole-ship design. The design solution put forward by Thales (for which BMT Defense Services was principal naval architect) includes such novel features as a twin-island arrangement on the flight deck and the use of podded propulsors as part of an integrated full electric propulsion architecture with three Rolls-Royce MT 30 gas turbine prime movers.

French Defense Minister Michele Alliot-Marie has argued that conventional propulsion will allow France to have a bigger aircraft carrier, which can accommodate more aircraft. A second carrier would allow France to have a rotational deployment capability for its naval air arm. This will become particularly important when the Charles de Gaulle is undergoing overhaul.

The French Defense Ministry plans a contract award for the new carrier in 2005, with an anticipated commissioning date of 2012-14. The British are expected to sign a carrier construction contract by the end of the year, with the first carrier being commissioned in 2012, and the second by 2015.