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Romeo & Juliet

The project PA2 was defined around a building of 284/288 m, ship of about 60000 tons. For a national pride, some wanted it to be 300 meters long. The 12 meters more would not change anything in the configuration of the air group embarked [GAe]. The GAe would consist of 32 Rafale M, 3 embarked lookout planes and 5 NH90. Unlike the English, France knew that the fighter aircraft embedded would be the Rafale M, and that it was catapulted. As capital ships for the French navy had always been built by DCN in Brest, and as the worker's unions did not allow any other site, it had to be shorter than 264 meters (the length of the construction dock in Brest). Then - recognizing the cost of developing special reactors - the submarine K15 reactors were chosen. The mission objective was to have an operational pace of about 70/80 air missions / day.

Romeo and Juliet are the letters R and J in the international phonetic alphabet. For a time, French engineers and architects have worked on two projects (with the exception of the solution of a reclaimed Charles de Gaulle: 50,000 tons, 4 nuclear reactors, four catapults and 50 aircraft). Evolutions in on-board aviation tend to aircraft with a mass of about 30 tons. Catapults of 90 meters seem necessary because those of 75 meters give only 25 tons. Those of 90 meters assume an aircraft carrier above 50 to 60,000 tons The first ship, whose model was presented by DCN at the Euronaval fair, was known as Romeo. Displacing 59,000 tons for 284 meters in length and 72 in width, this vessel would carry about forty aircraft (32 Rafales, 3 Hawkeye and 5 NH90). Its propulsion (Thales proposed electric all in partnership with Rolls and Azi-Pods) would ensure a maximum speed of 27 knots and a autonomy of 10,000 nautical at 15 knots. Manned by 1770 people, including 900 for the air group, it could remain in operation for 45 days (food).

In October 2004, studies were carried out to display at Euronaval to a model of the project called Romeo, a concept derived from the DCN design offices approved by Thales and presented to the DGA. Romeo, with a displacement of 55,000 tons, was propelled by three K-15 reactors. The aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle, by its architecture, could not receive a third reactor.

On 13 February 2004 the French government announced that it had selected the conventional propulsion option for its second aircraft carrier, rather than building an additional nuclear propulsion carrier. The need for an aicraft carrier of larger in size than the Charles de Gaulle, able to achieve a speed of 27 knots, would have necessitated important modifications in the propulsion system as a result of the increased tonnage. This modification would have resulted as well in modifying the safety norms established for the Charles de Gaulle either through the use of existing boiler rooms with expanded capacities or an increase in the number of boiler rooms. That particular option, while technically feasible, was not judged financially viable as a result of the potentially high developmental costs involved.

The analysis of the uses of a modern carrier group having shown, that the frequency of resupplying and the average duration of each operation are only slightly increased with conventional propulsion, while being rather determined by the resupplying of fuel for the aircraft, munitions and food.

"This choice ...offers the best perspectives for cooperation with the United Kingdom," Chirac said at the time. But BAE, under contract to build two aircraft carriers for the Royal Navy, told the UK Ministry of Defence that bringing the French into the project could cause long delays and would upset America.

The decision for conventional vs. nuclear propulsion was driven largely by the desire to achieve economies of scale; the UK was building 2 aircraft carriers, via a working partnership between the French firm Thales and British BAe. Sharing the costs of ship design, commonly procuring large equipment like the propulsion systems and holding common equipment trials brings down the per-ship cost substantially. After numerous comparative studies, it became apparent that the overall costs for the construction of a conventional vessel would be 10% less than for a nuclear vessel, due also to long-term lower maintenance and crew support costs. Finally, the conventional design was more adaptable over time to suit the needs of future aircraft and missions, with an outlook to 2050. However, the more interesting aircraft carrier in terms of cooperation was the variant of the Thales CVF Delta project. This was the option defended by the British Minister of Defense.

The Juliette project consisted of a ship of 60,000 tons purely French design, inherited the Romeo project. The Juliette project ship was 285 meters long with a beam of 72 meters. Its has a displacement of 60,000 tons and a speed of 27 knots. The aeronautical installations were similar, but the personnel more than on the CVF FR (a crew of 1,770 people).

The project, dubbed "Juliette", incorporated, in broad outlines, the architecture validated by the British (with two islands separated by an elevator). Any internal volume penalty associated with the exhaust trunking required by conventionally powered carriers was mitigated by the novel use of twin islands, which eliminates the need to route trunking through the hull. The situation was further improved by the use of integrated electric propulsion which provides the flexibility to site the powerplants almost anywhere within the hull. Thus, the GTs are mounted quite high, almost in the sponsons, which again shortens the trunking a great deal. This may also have the side effect of allowing the GTs to be easily removed and upgraded in the future. It might also contribute to survivability in an ASW context, by reducing the amount of engine noise and vibration transmitted through the hull into the water, although the infra-red signature must be a potential source of concern, lacking as it would the insulative effect of being below the waterline, as well as the potential for battle damage from surface based weapons.

Not as large as Romeo (280 meters long for 69 wide), Juliet was heavier (64,500 tons) and would run at substantially the same speed (26.5 knots). The proposed engine consisted of a combined diesel-electric and gas turbine (CODLAG) propulsion. It could include two Rolls Royce MT 30 TGs (2 x 36 MW), four Wärtsila diesel engines (2 x 11.7 MW and 2 x 9.45 MW). The total available power would be of the order of 110 MW (against 61 MW on CDG].

The aeronautical installations for Romeo and Juliet were identical, with a single hangar and two lifts with a capacity of 70 tons, capable of accommodating two Rafales to the F3 standard (the heaviest). In both cases, the surface of the flight deck would be larger than that of the CDG. The ship would be equipped with two US C13-2 steam catapults, 90 meters long. On the electronic side, it was planned to equip the ship with a three-dimensional Herakles multifunctional radar (Thales) placed in a conical mast that could be inspired by integrated mast of the future multi-mission frigates (FREMM). The armament should be similar to the nuclear carrier with four Sylver launchers (32 Aster 15 missiles) and two Sadral very short-range surface / air systems (12 Mistral missiles), supplemented by the usual countermeasures: EM (electromagnetic), IR (infrared) and torpedo. The air group would also include about forty aircraft including 32 Rafales but the crew would be smaller than on the Romeo with 1,500 people.

The Romeo and Juliet projects faced a double imperative: the specificities demanded by the French navy and the success of the cooperation with the Royal Navy, aimed at reducing costs for the two countries by building three identical platforms. For a time, France and Great Britain managed to find common solutions for 80 to 90% of the ship, including hull, machinery and living spaces. The main changes sought by Paris concern:

• The abolition of the ski-jump / springboard planned at the prow of the CVF. The Royal Navy wanted to acquire the F-35 for take-off / short landing (Due to its exorbitant price, a classic version of the F-35 was envisaged) while the Navy needed a classic bridge and catapults to launch Rafales.
• A specific scheme for the arrangement of aircraft in the hangar.
• The establishment of a command system for an amphibious and naval force. The group required for the operation of this vast embedded PC was estimated at 100 people.
• The establishment of a national combat system, probably derived from the CMS (Combat Management System of the Senit family), developed by DCN.
• The increase of the capacity of fuel tanks. Based on feedback from the Rafale, Paris wanted the aircraft carrier's fuel capacity to be increased to 5 million liters, against 3 million for the initial draft of the English CVF. The French wished to be able to make 75 daily sorties beyond 7 days, whereas the British specifications, in case of conflict, involved 108 sorties in the first 24 hours, 72 sorties within 10 days and 36 beyond. 20 days.

DCN completed the design studies and reported on a common industrial strategy for the three Franco-British ships. The government must make a decision in the wake of these studies. Interviewed by the London Times newspaper, Jean-Marie Poimboeuf gave what might be interpreted as an indication of the trend: "Our conclusion was that British design was compatible with the operational needs of The French navy. If it was chosen, we will do just a few adaptations ". Regarding the timetable, DCN's president said: "The development and realization contract would not be passed before 2006 or 2007 and therefore the production would not start until 2008 or 2009".

In June 2004, MOPA2, a joint venture of DCN and Thales (65% DCN, 35% Thales), was entrusted with the project management of the second French aircraft carrier (which could be called Richelieu). A total of € 167 million was allocated to the definition studies on the 2005 budget. The total cost of the studies was expected to be € 500 million and the construction of the vessel at about € 2 billion. His admission to active duty was scheduled for 2014.