equipping yourself with a new aircraft carrier at 10 billion euros, good or bad idea?

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Do we need a new aircraft carrier costing 10 billion euros to replace the iconic Charles de Gaulle? While the official launch of its construction is expected in the coming weeks, Internet users are expressing doubts: “Like battleships in the past, it is a weapon that has had its day”, “2025, is there still talk of aircraft carriers? Today, war is fought with increasingly efficient drones or stealth planes”, “We would be better off investing in drone carriers”can we read on social networks. An aircraft carrier is impressive, but is it still suitable to face current threats?

The Charles de Gaulle is indeed old. Ordered in 1986, it was put into service in 2001. Designed to last around forty years, it should be replaced in 2038, but not identically. The new aircraft carrier will be twice as massive, longer and above all better equipped. This was detailed at the beginning of November by the Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces. “There are new threats, new environments. And so this air power which will be implemented aboard an aircraft carrier will of course bring together aircraft from coming generations, but also drones of all types”indicated General Fabien Mandon, Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces, in the Senate on November 5.

For him, the main threat in the coming years is Russia. So, against the Russians, will this aircraft carrier be an essential weapon? Like Internet users, some specialists are wondering. “A conflict with Russia would be essentially land-based, air-land based. The naval dimension would still be extremely limited. We can consider perhaps simpler means in the medium term than the deployment of an aircraft carrier which requires a carrier group, therefore a very significant logistical footprint, plus perhaps a slightly greater vulnerability to Russian anti-ship defenses”explains Léo Péria-Peigné, researcher at the Center for Security Studies at Ifri (French Institute of International Relations).

And this vulnerability is worrying, because the means of attack and destruction have evolved with, for example, the use of hypersonic missiles or drones. “An aircraft carrier can stop 10 drones, it can stop 100 drones, but it cannot stop 1000 drones. And we can see that from now on, we are arriving at a moment where adversaries, on both sides, will know how to launch swarms of drones to attack, from which we do not know if we can really protect ourselves”explains General Vincent Desportes, former director of the War School and specialist in strategic and military affairs.

Therefore, in the event of a war with Russia, questions remain about the relevance of this future aircraft carrier and about the trade-off between its effectiveness, its vulnerability and its gigantic cost of 10 billion euros.

Le Télégramme – The PANG, the future aircraft carrier of the French Navy designed to succeed the Charles De Gaulle, under pressure

Le Marin Ouest-France – France would need “three aircraft carriers to ensure permanence at sea” (paid link)

Les Echos – How the chief of staff of the French army wants to prepare it for the Russian shock (paid link)

• Institutional documents:

Hearing of General Fabien Mandon, Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces, in the Senate (November 5, 2025)

Léo Péria-Peigné, researcher at the Center for Security Studies at Ifri (French Institute of International Relations), at the Observatory of Future Conflicts on prospective capabilities in terms of armaments and on the use of future weapons systems

General Vincent Desportes, former director of the War School and specialist in strategic and military affairs

Non-exhaustive list