Second Aircraft Carrier / The British Option
Deuxième Porte-Avions / DPA / PA2
France and Britain had a long-standing desire to maintain their strong bilateral cooperation in the naval defense area, and the opportunity to collaborate on building an aircraft carrier certainly was politically attractive; Franco-British defense cooperation was considered a key element of European defense capability.
The UK’s requirement was for ships designed for the short or vertical take-offs of their F-35 JSFs, whereas the French plan on equipping their carrier with Rafales and future drones. However, at the time when the British Navy made its decision, it purposely chose a design that could easily be adapted to permit either vertical or catapulted take-offs. The French MoD also found many other areas of convergence in terms of requirements with the British design, not least of which was the delivery calendar.
Finally, France and the UK were actively seeking areas in which to improve fleet interoperability, especially during EU or NATO exercises. France’s flagship firms Thales and DCN (Direction des Constructions Navales) would play a major role alongside BAe in the construction of the vessel, and claim to be able to deliver the ship for less than 2 billion euros.
Many decisions still needed to be made; the issue was more determining overall operational requirements rather than precise size, level of self-protection, off-load capability onto escort frigates and level of systems capability. Notification of the main contract was to be made by the end of 2006, with contracts for definition studies issued earlier, starting in 2004.
There had been talk of an international production program involving PA 2 and the British CVF or Queen Elizabeth class, however, as of 2005 there were believed to be too many differences in requirement. However, areas of industrial cooperation are emerging and a joint industrial report was being used to examine these.
While both sides had to confirm the final propulsion arrangements they both agreed that an electrical propulsion system based upon combined gas turbines and diesels and joint procurement of machinery seemed extremely likely. The second area of potential cooperation appeared to be in aviation support systems. These could include equipment such as elevators and landing aids. The third area appeared to be in ship infrastructure such as fire fighting systems and hotel equipment, and here a considerable number of systems and equipment have been identified. It was even possible that joint accommodation modules could be produced.
In June 2004, DCN and Thales announced their decision to combine their strengths and set up an integrated Prime Contract Office to jointly lead the future French aircraft carrier program. A jointly owned company would assume the role of prime contractor on this programme. This company would have a four-member board of directors, with equal representation by DCN and Thales, chaired by a DCN nominee. This company would lead the PA2 program from conception to completion and support implementation of cooperation with the United Kingdom’s future aircraft carrier program. The new joint company would be 65% owned by DCN and 35% owned by Thales Naval France.
On 25 January 2005 the French defence minister, Michèle Alliot-Marie, announced the launch of the design phase for France’s second aircraft carrier (PA2). This important step marked the end of the preparatory study phase, in which DCN and Thales had been closely involved. The studies, which began in June 2004 and were completed in the summer of 2005, included risk reduction studies and an evaluation of opportunities for cooperation between the British and French aircraft carrier programs. Once these studies had been completed, the final design definition phase was to begin.
The studies undertaken since early 2005 focused on the opportunities for cooperation between the French PA2 and the British CVF programs. The studies undertaken since early 2005 concluded that the basic 55,000-65,000t CVF design by the BAE-Thales Alliance team could meet the French Navy's requirements with only limited tailoring. The proposal for an arrangement based on joint procurement - with the CVF design as the baseline - was presented to the DGA and the UK Defence Procurement Agency (DPA) on 26 September 2005. The hull would be built by Chantiers de l'Atlantique at Saint Nazaire, with fitting out by DCN at Brest. Chantiers de l'Atlantique can build larger ships than a CVF -- in 2003 they built the 345 m Queen Mary 2. This allows the whole ship to be built, rather than using superblock assembly construction techniques.
The CVF FR was a large vessel equipped with two small islands with a displacement of 65,000 tons fully loaded. It was 283 meters long with a beam of 78 meters. Compared to the Charles of Gaulle, this aircraft carrier was 60% larger (40,000 tons for the CDG and 261.5 meters length). Its crew would be on the other hand was smaller with 1650 people against 1950. Equipped with two elevators and two longer catapults (90 meters), it can embark an air group made up of 32 Rafales (against 24), 3 Hawkeye and 5 heavy helicopters. The propulsion, entirely electric, was planned for a speed of 26.3 knots.
For its future aircraft carrier, France would obviously use the Rafale. As of 2004 a total of 10 version F1 (interception), were on line. They belong to the first order with Dassault in 1999. As of 2005, and until 2008, a second contract would see the delivery of 16 other planes. A third section (2008-2012) would relate to 12 more. There would remain 22 apparatuses to deliver to reach 60 aircraft (including 15 F2 standard with air-to-ground and air-to-sea vocation and 35 with the F3 standard, i.e. general-purpose). On the other side of the English Channel, the situation was definitely more complicated. London had envisaged to be equipped from 2012 with an about sixty Join Combat Aircraft (the British name of the American JSF) in the F-35B short take-off and landing version (). The use of this aircraft involves one of the principal differences between the French and Royal Navy carriers -- the later must be equipped with a ramp and had neither catapults, nor arresting cables.
On 12 December 2005 French defence procurement agency DGA formally awarded DCN and Thales a "relay contract" to continue their work on the design of the planned 'PA2' aircraft carrier. This marked a major milestone in the design of the second carrier for the French Navy. The new contract, worth €20 million, would enable the PA2 team to proceed with a detailed preliminary design of a "tailored CVF". These studies would be undertaken by MOPA2, the integrated DCN/Thales prime contract office. The milestone marking the end of the design phase and the start of the production phase was scheduled for late 2006.
France announced 15 December 2005 a consolidation of its two main warship makers in a move that could pave the way for wider consolidation in Europe's shipbuilding sector. Defense electronics company Thales SA agreed to transfer its naval assets to state-owned DCN and pay up to 150 million euros ($180 million) for a 25 percent stake in the company. Under the terms of the deal, to be completed in mid-2006, DCN would acquire Thales' naval assets including its stakes in their existing joint ventures, Armaris and MOPA2 - the unit established to build a second aircraft carrier for the French navy.
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