Charles de Gaulle - Operations
The Charles de Gaulle has suffered from a variety of problems [see James Dunnigan's "How NOT to Build an Aircraft Carrier"]. The Charles de Gaulle took eleven years to build, with construction beginning in 1988 and entering service in late 2000. For comparison, constructino of the American CVN 77 began in 2001 with a projected delivery in 2008. The 40,000 ton ship is slower than the conventionally powered Foch, which she it replaced. The propellers on the CDG did not work properly, so she recycled those of the Foch. The nuclear reactor was problematic, with the engine crew receiving five times the allowable annual radiation dose. The flight deck layout has precluded operating the E-2 radar aircraft.
Six years after the Charles de Gaulle was first brought into active service on May 18, 2001, the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier entered the Vauban docks in Toulon on July 31, 2007 to begin, on September 1, its first major refueling and complex overhaul operation, due to last a total of 15 months, including 12 months in the dry dock and 3 months at its berth. On August 22 - the day the aircraft carrier sailed out of the dock - was a major event, demonstrating that the particularly complex refitting work had been completed according to schedule. The conditions were ideal for this delicate maneuver: the weather was perfect (a smooth sea and breeze no greater than 5 knots), the dock had been prepared and the nominal functioning and watertightness of the different equipment necessary for refloating the vessel had been validated.
With the DCNS Group acting as the prime contractor, the aim of the refueling and complex overhaul operation of the aircraft carrier CVN Charles-de-Gaulle is to bring the warship back to full operational power. The refitting work would make it possible, in particular, to update key installations such as the core of the nuclear reactor and the aircraft carrier's information and command systems, and allow them to work at maximum capacity.
The scheduling constraints of reactor refuelling determined the rest of the refit schedule. More specifically, while the two reactor cores were being refuelled and the entire stream generating system checked out, a large number of tasks were programmed for other systems and areas.
The propulsion system was overhauled and inspected from the steam turbines to the propellers. The entire 11,000-sq.m hull was stripped then re-painted and the 7,800-sq.m flight deck resurfaced. For these two operations, DCNS adopted an environment-friendly process using industrial-scale high-pressure water jets. This new technique, tested and approved earlier by DCNS as part of the refitting of French Navy frigate Dupleix, significantly reduced the amount of waste.
The catapults, arresting gear and other flight deck systems were overhauled and inspected. The replacement of three of the ship's cooling plants, in compliance with new environmental standards, involved cutting holes in the hull for plant removal and installation.
DCNS modified the ship to accommodate Rafale combat aircraft to standard F3 and updated the command information and communication systems to the latest technological standards. The new Syracuse III terminal gives the ship significantly improved bandwidth for satellite communications which, in turn, would greatly simplify direct, high-speed data links between the ship and its aircraft. Over 80 km of new cable was installed, much of it for the new telephony-over-IP network which also offers extensive internet access.
The CVN Charles de Gaulle undergoes a nuclear refueling every 7 years. Over the 15 months between 1 September 2007 and 1 December 2008, DCNS successfully completed this exceptional project for its prime customer, the French Navy. In so doing, the Group significantly expanded its naval support service capabilities. Everything was organized with an ultimate deadline in mind - November 30, 2008 - to allow the gradual powering up of the Charles de Gaulle and its return to operational availability in the spring of 2009. The CVN Charles de Gaulle refit and upgrade was completed on 01 December 2008. Prime contractor DCNS conducted this exceptional shipyard project at a sustained pace to complete it on time in just 15 months. After modernization in 2008/2009, it must be refuelled again in 2015/2016 and around 2023/2024, then around 2030, then to around 2037.
The draft budget for 2012 envisaged the preparation of the next major stop of the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle. The second major technical stop the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle, in 2016-2017, requires provision already long-term supply, hence the mention in the draft budget law for 2012, and which is found in the following years. With a expected service life of about 35-40 years, it could be retired from service around 2037 (or at worst to 2043).
DCNS is the sole prime contractor for Major Technical Shutdown No. 2 of the Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier, scheduled for the start of 2017. The Group has been actively preparing for this over the last few years, through the progressive ramping up of this exceptional project. This operation is being implemented in close cooperation with the DGA (French armament procurement agency), the French Navy’s Fleet Support Department and the aircraft carrier’s crew. This cooperation with the crew is particularly important because they would actively participate in the vessel’s maintenance and renovation work.
DCNS would perform the ten-year through-life support work of the vessel to reinstate the potential of all its installations. In particular, the reactors would be inspected and the fuel replaced, the shaft lines would be inspected, maintenance work performed on the catapults, the machinery would be inspected and the air conditioning systems and a galley would be renovated.
During the technical shutdown, the DCNS teams would also renovate the combat system. This involves several operations related to changes in the IT networks and the deployment of measures to secure the IT systems. Various changes to the sensors, early-warning radars, navigation radars, infrared sensors and optronic camera, as well as the renovation of the communications system, are scheduled. Carrying the SENIT would also require refurbishing the control room.
Finally, work was undertaken to adapt the vessel to the new carrier air wing, with a transition to “all-Rafale” operations further to the withdrawal from active service of the modernised Super Etendard. Several systems and installations would be replaced and upgraded: deck-landing aid installations and target-motion systems. Furthermore, the centralized installation supervision system, the fault management support systems and the platform’s control PLCs would also be modernized to bring the aircraft carrier up to the highest technological standard.
Charles De Gaulle was undergoing mid-life overhaul. Approximately 350 French Navy aviators and support personnel trained with U.S. Navy aviators in the spring of 2018, with 27 pilots with 12 Marine Nationale Rafale-M multi-role fighter jets and one E-2C Hawkeye airborne command and control aircraft conducting air–to–air and air–to–ground training at Naval Air Station Oceana, Naval Station Norfolk, and Field Carrier Landing Practice (FCLP) at Naval Auxiliary Landing Field (NALF)Fentress. The April to May 2018 deployment came just before FS Charles de Gaulle (R91) was expected to complete a major maintenance period which started in 2015.
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