President of France, Emmanuel Macron officially announced that the PA-NG (Porte-avions de nouvelle génération) next-generation aircraft carrier program will advance to its implementation phase, enabling the concrete start of its construction. The decision confirms that the French Navy’s current nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, the Charles de Gaulle (R91), will be replaced starting in 2038.
The announcement was made during a speech by the French president to French troops deployed in Abu Dhabi. There, Macron stated: “In this age of predators, we must be strong to be feared. And in particular, strong at sea,” justifying the decision to equip France with a new aircraft carrier. He also specified that the political decision to launch the program was made earlier that week.
During his address, the president highlighted the collaborative work of the Ministry of the Armed Forces, the General Staff, the Directorate General of Armaments (DGA), the European Atomic Energy Commission (CEA), and the industrial partners involved. He noted that the program will have a direct impact on the national economy, involving some 800 suppliers, 80% of which are small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Macron added that he will visit the shipyard in February to meet with the participating companies.
The Minister of the Armed Forces, also present in Abu Dhabi, confirmed the start of the program and stated: “As announced by the President of the Republic, the Ministry of the Armed Forces is launching the construction of the next-generation aircraft carrier (PA-NG). A future cornerstone of our armed forces, it will guarantee power projection from the high seas, with its entry into service planned for 2038.”
A key program for the French Navy
In May, the officer in charge of the program at the French Navy, Captain Thibault Lavernhe, had indicated that “2025 is a major milestone for the program” and that the Ministry of Defense would define the transition to the implementation phase before the end of the year. On that occasion, Lavernhe affirmed: “Today, the ship is designed on paper. We know what we want at the French Navy; now it is only a matter of political decision.”
The PA-NG program was approved in December 2020 to enter a two-phase design and development phase. Since then, the DGA and the MO Porte-Avions consortium, comprised of Naval Group and Chantiers de l’Atlantique, have made progress on the preliminary and systems design of the vessel. In parallel, TechnicAtome, under contract with the CEA, is responsible for the design and delivery of the nuclear propulsion plant, based on two K-22 pressurized water reactors, the construction of which began in September of this year.
Features of the future PA-NG
Design work carried out over the past four years has resulted in an aircraft carrier with a displacement of approximately 78,000 tons, a length of 310 meters, and a beam of nearly 90 meters. The ship will have a 17,200 m² flight deck, designed to operate an embarked air group of about 30 combat aircraft, in addition to fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircraft.
Its main features include fully electrified power systems, a unique integrated island, three electromagnetic launching strips (EMALS), an Advanced Arresting Gear (AAG) recovery system with three cables, two hangars, and two 40-ton side deck elevators located on the starboard side.
According to Captain Lavernhe, the design is optimized to operate 30 manned fighter jets or unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAVs), three E-2D Hawkeyes, and between five and six helicopters. The plan is for the ship to enter service with Rafale M F5-standard fighters, E-2D Hawkeyes, and UAVs. Furthermore, a UCAV compatible with carrier-based operations is expected to join the air group around 2040.
Industrial timeline and funding
The current schedule anticipates that assembly of the PA-NG will begin at Chantiers de l’Atlantique in Saint-Nazaire in 2032. The vessel will then be moved to Toulon in mid-2035 to complete its outfitting and begin loading the nuclear fuel, with sea trials scheduled to commence in 2036.
As a preliminary step to the program’s final authorization, in April 2024 the DGA awarded contracts worth €600 million for the acquisition of critical equipment and long-term structures to MO Porte-Avions and TechnicAtome. These contracts include reactor components, containment vessels, and parts of the secondary steam system.
In parallel, the project falls within a broader budgetary plan. France intends to bolster its defense budget in the coming years, including the acquisition of additional EMALS systems from the US and the modernization of the Combat Management System (CMS) for the future aircraft carrier. In this regard, the budget proposal for approval highlights: “(…) funding for the third catapult launch pad and the data-driven upgrade of the Combat Management System (CMS) in its progressive development approach is provided by the additional funding requested by the President of the Republic during his address of July 13, 2025.” These measures aim to ensure design continuity, mitigate technical risks, and guarantee the signing of the main construction contract within the established deadlines.
With the political decision now made, the PA-NG program enters its most decisive phase, marking the beginning of the path toward replacing the Charles de Gaulle and ensuring the continuity of the French Navy’s carrier-based air capabilities for decades to come.
*Cover image courtesy of Naval Group.
*Translated by Constanza Matteo
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