Overview
- French outlets report the president plans to announce the official name during a visit to Saint-Nazaire on Wednesday, March 18, with the timing subject to change if international events intervene.
- The vessel, referred to in planning as PANG, is slated for assembly at Chantiers de l’Atlantique in Saint‑Nazaire as part of a long-term national shipbuilding effort.
- Program parameters include a target entry into service in 2038, an estimated budget of about €10 billion, a displacement around 75,000 tonnes, and capacity for roughly 30 next‑generation fighters plus multiple drone types.
- Naval leadership frames the ship as an aeromaritime platform designed to deploy crewed aircraft alongside combat, tanker, surveillance drones and loitering munitions.
- The planned announcement follows Macron’s visit to the carrier Charles de Gaulle, ordered closer to the Middle East theater, and comes after a French service member was killed by a drone strike in the region.