Ballistic protection tests of new French aircraft carrier started by DGA.

According to a tweet published by the French MoD on November 24, 2022, the DGA Techniques Terrestres site in Bourges, has begun the first ballistic protection tests of the new generation aircraft carrier (PANG).
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First ballistic protection tests of the new generation aircraft carrier PANG. (Picture source: French MoD)

The French Navy is actively planning for a future aircraft carrier and new flagship. It is known in French as Porte-avions de nouvelle génération (PA-NG) for 'new generation aircraft carrier'.

Construction of the PANG is expected to begin around 2025 and it will enter service in 2038; the year the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle is due to be retired. The ship will be nuclear-powered and feature the Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS) catapult system.

The new aircraft carrier will have a displacement of 7500 tons, a length of 305 meters, and a beam of 40 meters (131 ft 3 in). She will have two elevators.

The PANG will be the largest warship ever built in Europe and, at this stage, the largest in the world after its American counterparts, whose size it will approach.

The ship will be nuclear-powered and feature the Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS) catapult system. She is expected to carry combat drones, developed by Airbus and MBDA as part of the Future Air Combat System, which would be a real innovation.

The PA-Ng will carry aircraft and helicopters including E-2 Hawkeye early-warning fixed-wing, 30 Dassault Rafale fighter jets, or FCAS (French: Système de combat aérien du futur; SCAF), Airbus Helicopters H160M, and NHIndustries NH90 helicopters.

The Direction générale de l’armement (DGA; English: Directorate General of Armaments), is the French Government Defence procurement and technology agency responsible for project management, development and purchase of weapon systems for the French military. The DGA's mission is to prepare the future of French defense systems, equip the French armed forces and promote French defense industry exports.