PA-NG will cost over €10billion. (Image: Getty)
France has confirmed the construction of its largest-ever nuclear aircraft carrier, which is set to dwarf British equivalents. French president Emmanuel Macron has confirmed that the 78,000-tonne nuclear-powered warship will be named Porte-Avions Nouvelle Génération – PA-NG for short – and will cost €10billion.
Expected by 2038, PA-NG will dwarf Britain’s Queen Elizabeth-class carriers – the largest in the Royal Navy’s fleet. PA-NG is expected to displace 78,000 ton of water and measure 310 metres in length, compared to HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales’s 65,000-ton displacement and 280-metre length. The new vessel will feature two to three electromagnetic aircraft launch systems, which are hi-tech aircraft catapults designed to launch a fleet of French Rafale M fighter jets.
Emmanuel Macron has pledged an extra €6.5billion of defence spending before 2028 (Image: Getty)
French army minister Catherine Vautrin called PA-NG the “future centrepiece of our armed forces”. “It will ensure the projection of power from the high seas,” she added.
The project will boost the finances of 800 French suppliers, 80% of whom are small and medium-sized enterprises.
Work on the carrier’s nuclear engine began last year, and the plans were announced to French troops in Abu Dhabi on Sunday.
PA-NG’s huge cost has come under fire from the French opposition, who say the country’s finances will not cope amid soaring public debt and warnings of austerity cuts.
Despite this, Mr Macron has said France will aim to spend €64billion on defence in 2027, twice the €32billion he spent in his first term as French president in 2017.
This comes as it has been suggested that the Royal Navy is becoming increasingly outdated, selling off ships at cut rates and struggling to maintain an ageing fleet of frigates.
Earlier this month, Gen Sir Gwyn Jenkins warned that Britain is dangerously close to losing control of the Atlantic to Russia, and needs to secure the help of key NATO allies in its defence.
The Royal Navy launched two new Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers in 2017 and is currently building a new fleet of Type 26 frigates, which should be ready for 2028.
