DZIRHAN MAHADZIR – MAY 30, 2024 7:04 PM
The French Charles De Gaulle Carrier Strike Group wrapped up its Mission Akila deployment to the Mediterranean on Sunday, according to a French Navy news release.
Along with FS Charles De Gaulle (R91) and its embarked air wing of 18 Rafale M fighters, two E-2C Hawkeye Airborne Early Warning and Control and two Dauphin helicopters, the French CSG included French frigates FS Chevalier Paul (D621) and FS Provence (D652), Portuguese frigate NRP Bartolomeu Dias (F333), Italian frigate ITS Carabiniere (F593), Greek frigate HS Kountouriotis (F462), French nuclear attack submarine SNA Émeraude (S604) and French and fleet oiler BRF Jacques Chevallier (A725).
Charles De Gaulle and several of its escorts left Toulon on April 22 to begin the deployment. The CSG participated in NATO exercise Neptune Strike 24-1 from April 26 through May 10, which saw the French CSG go under NATO operational control for the first time.
The French CSG subsequently took part in the Italian-French naval exercise Mare Aperto 24/Polaris. Mare Aperto 24 is a multinational exercise conducted by the Italian Navy that began on May 3. The drills became the hybrid Mar Aperto 24/Polaris on May 16 with the participation of the French CSG.
The French Navy first conducted its Polaris exercise in 2021. The drills were built on the concept of a free play force-on-force combat exercise and this year combined it with Mare Aperto for a similar force-on-force drill. The French CSG formed the red force and faced an opposing blue force CSG led by Italian Navy aircraft carrier ITS Cavour (550), which carried a mixed air wing of F-35B Lightning II Joint Strike Fighters fighters and AV-8B Harrier jets.
“Among the innovations this year, I would like to highlight the connection between Mare Aperto and the Polaris exercise of the French Navy, which in the hottest phase will lead to the confrontation between the attack groups of the Cavour and Charles de Gaulle aircraft carriers,” Vice Adm. Vice Aurelio De Carolis, the commander-in-chief of the Italian Navy, said in a news release about the exercise.
French amphibious assault ship FS Dixmude (L9015), along with embarked French amphibious troops and helicopters, joined the blue force as part of the Italian amphibious task group. An earlier phase of Mar Aperto 24 saw the Spanish Navy amphibious transport dock ESPS Galicia (L-51), with embarked Spanish Marines and frigate ESPS Reina Sofía (F-84), integrate with Italian Navy amphibious transport docks ITS San Giorgio (L9892) and ITS San Marco (L9893). Both Italian amphibs carried embarked Italian marine units to carry out the amphibious drills. The forces performed various other drills, including at-sea tactical drills and replenishment at-sea and mine hunting exercises, during Mar Aperto 24.
Fifty surface ships, six submarines, 63 aircraft, 300 amphibious vehicles and over 10,000 personnel took part in the exercise, according to an Italian Ministry of Defense news release issued at the conclusion of Mar Aperto 24. Of the 10,000 personnel, 3,600 were from Italy, 2,700 were from France, 1,400 were from Spain and the remainder came from 26 other countries, including 11 NATO nations.
The French CSG traveled more than 10,000 nautical miles for the deployment, according to the French Navy release about Akila. Charles De Gaulle carried out more than 650 catapults of Rafale fighters and E-2C Hawkeyes for a total of 1000 hours of flight. The CSG’s five helicopters flew 200 times, with a total of 300 hours of flight, and the Atlantique 2 Maritime Patrol Aircraft, stationed in Souda, Crete, recorded 12 missions for 90 hours of flight.
During the entire Akila deployment, the French CSG carried out 10 air defense exercises, five anti-submarine warfare drills, two anti-ship warfare exercises and four shooting drills. The French CSG also performed two Aster missile launches, one each from the aircraft carrier Charles De Gaulle and frigate Chevalier Paul.
Jacques Chevallier replenished a total of 35 French and allied ships during the deployment, according to the release. The CSG also experimented with resupplying and siloing Aster missiles at sea and transferring of materials via drones between the French CSG escorts.