The French ministry of the armed forces has awarded the first contract for the order of long lead items for the PANG (porte-avions de nouvelle génération) new generation aircraft carrier program.

Artist impression of the yet-to-be named PANG at sea. Image by MO Porte Avions.

According to a French MoD release, the contract awarded on 26 April by the Direction Générale de l’Armement (DGA – the defense procurement agency) focuses on the propulsion of the future aircraft carrier: The nuclear reactors, their containment structures and the secondary loop which converts the energy from the nuclear reactor into electricity.

This order which was awarded to three contractors anticipates the manufacturing of these elements, before the launch milestone for the construction of the entire aircraft carrier. The three contractors are:

Shipbuilder Naval Group, in charge of the industrialization and production of the main components of nuclear reactors
The Chantiers de l’Atlantique shipyard, in charge of adapting its industrial facilities for the construction phase in Saint-Nazaire;
TechnicAtome, prime contractor for the nuclear reactors, is in charge of their design

PANG specifications

The latest design of the PANG on Naval Group stand at Euronaval 2022.
The latest technical specification of France’s future aircraft carrier are as follow (preliminary design data):

Full load displacement: ~ 75,000 t
Overall length: 310 m
Length at waterline: 305 m
Width at water line: 39 m
Flight deck surface area: ~ 17,000 m²

Max draught: 10.8 m
Two or three 90-meter electromagnetic catapults (EMALS) by General Atomics
Airwing: ~30 New Generation Fighter (NGF) and Rafale M
Maximum speed: 30 knots (more than Charles de Gaulle)

Two or three emals?

According to the latest information obtained by Naval News from various industry sources (who wished to remain anonymous for confidentiality reasons), it appears that the choice is settled, at last, for three EMALS, as this is the most logical one. This information should be officially announced later this year, possibly during Euronaval 2024.

There is a plan to procure the EMALS and AAG sets for the PANG in a “group buy” with the CVN 78 program in order to benefit from economies of scale.

However, Naval News understands that delays with the aircraft carrier program in the US could put this “group buy” in jeopardy.

Inquired about this issue, a French navy source was reassuring and explained that even if CVN 80 and CVN 81 suffer a small delay, the French and Americans could still agree on a group buy, with different delivery schedule by General Atomics.

Speaking of which, the American contractor is still reviewing a number of potential French companies who could become suppliers of sub-components, not only for the French EMALS and AAG, but also for the American ones.

French and US parties involved in the PANG program are set to conduct a major meeting in September to discuss the various topics at hand.

A French Navy Rafale M is set to start a first phase of land-based tests and integration with the EMALS and AAG at Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division Lakehurst, New Jersey, next year.

PANG program schedule

Technical and operational studies started in 2018 and ended in 2019. In parallel, the conceptual design started at the end of 2018 and ended in December 2019.

A “risk mitigation & innovation studies” followed, between January 2021 and December 2023. At the same time, “preliminary design studies” started in Q1 2021 and ended in Q1 2023.

The PANG program is currently in the “definition phase”. It is set to end in December 2025 with the “system functional review” milestone.

The decision to launch the development and production phase is due for end of 2025 / early 2026, after which the “development and production” phase will span 10 years (2026 until 2036). Several milestones are set to be achieved in this timeframe:

Preliminary design review in Q4 2028
Critical design review in Q4 2029
First sea trials: End of 2035 / early 2036
Delivery: End of 2036 / early 2037
Commissioning: End of 2037 / early 2038

The production & construction phase will start in early 2031 in St Nazaire. The PANG will then transfer to Toulon in mid-2035 to finish outfitting work until the end of 2036.

Regarding the transfer from St Nazaire to Toulon: Since Chantiers de l’Atlantique is not a nuclear shipyard, fueling of the nuclear core and divergence (first power up of the reactor) will take place in Toulon.

According to the DGA program manager, the plan is to temporarily fit several diesel generators in the hangar (or on the flight deck) of the aircraft carrier in order to provide the electric propulsion system of the carrier with enough power.

In other words, this initial transit (which will not be a sea trial) will be conducted with the vessel’s own power, just not nuclear power.