After spending five months deployed as part of Mission Clemenceau 25, which took it to the Indo-Pacific theatre, the nuclear aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle returned to the port of Toulon, France. According to the official statement, the carrier strike group led by the vessel—which includes an escort of three frigates, a replenishment ship, and a nuclear-powered attack submarine—arrived in French waters on April 25 after covering more than 40,000 nautical miles.
Expanding on some details, the French Navy announced that this implies the return of more than 3,000 personnel home after 150 days of operations, during which they carried out an estimated 2,500 aircraft deployments from the deck of the Charles de Gaulle, as well as 100 at-sea replenishments, 20 of which were conducted for allied forces’ ships. Regarding the vessels involved, we can add to the aforementioned aircraft carrier the frigates FS Forbin (D620), FS Provence (D652), and FS Alsace (D656), along with the support ship FS Jacques Chevallier (A725) and an unspecified submarine.
The group’s activities in the Indo-Pacific centered around four major exercises involving cooperation with Australian, American, Japanese, and other partner forces. The list begins with Exercise La Perouse 25, conducted in the Straits of Malacca, Sunda, and Lombok in January. Next, Charles de Gaulle’s Rafale fighter jets took part in Exercise Rastaban 25 alongside Royal Australian Air Force aircraft, operating out of Darwin. The third major drill was Pacific Strellar, held in February in the Philippine Sea and involving the U.S. aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson and the Japanese helicopter carrier JS Kaga. The final key activity was the bilateral Varuna 2025 exercise conducted with Indian forces.
According to France’s Ministry of the Armed Forces: “This mission demonstrated France’s commitment to the preservation of freedom of navigation in accordance with international law, and enabled interaction with around twenty allied or partner countries with similar ambitions, across a wide range of missions—from maritime security to high-intensity joint carrier operations.”
It should also be noted that during the return voyage to France, the French Strike Group reported the loss of a non-commissioned officer assigned to the frigate FS Forbin. As shared by the French Minister of Defense via social media, the sailor was identified as Léo Soulas, who went missing during the night of April 23 and could not be located despite an extensive air and sea search.
Finally, it is worth highlighting that almost simultaneously with the return of the carrier and its escort to Toulon, the French Navy has deployed the Jeanne d’Arc Task Group to the United States. This group includes the amphibious assault ship FS Mistral (L9013) and the frigate FS Surcouf (F711). The purpose of this deployment is to participate in Exercise Chesapeake 2025, which will be carried out alongside the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps off the coast of North Carolina.
Images used for illustrative purposes
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