France vs. ISIS

France vs. ISIS

This post is also available in: heעברית (Hebrew)

 France is pulling the big guns to the fight against ISIL, or rather, its biggest ship.

The Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier, the only ship of its kind in France’s fleet, is to be deployed to the Middle East once more. The carrier has been previously engaged to the Persian Gulf from February through April. This redeployment will once again bolster French forces already operating in the area: six French Mirage jets are stationed in Jordan and six Rafale jets in the United Arab Emirates.

The Charles de Gaulle is a 261.5m long, nuclear powered carrier, that can carry up to 40 aircraft and support 100 flights a day. It has two take-off strips in the front and a landing strip in the back, capable of launching up to two planes a minute. This deployment signals a strong resolve on the part of French authorities to increase its strikes against ISIL.

“The deployment of the battle group formed around the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle was decided to participate in operations against IS and its affiliates,” the French Presidential Office, the Elysee said.

The deployment, described by French President Francois Hollande as “a rational choice,” is being framed as defensive, after Islamist attackers killed 17 people in Paris early this year. Following the attacks, France has stepped up its involvement in the conflict, carrying out 271 strikes in 1,285 missions against ISIL. Just two of the missions are known to have taken place in Syria, with the majority being conducted in Iraq. France has been targeting ISIL as part of a US-lead coalition since September 2014 and only began strikes in Syria this year.

The Charles de Gaulle is usually joined by a number of frigates and refueling ships, an attack submarine, and an array of fighter jets and surveillance aircraft.

“The aircraft carrier will enable us to be more efficient in coordination with our allies,”President Hollande said on Thursday.

 Subscribe to our newsletter.