France is set to begin construction of a new nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, French President Emmanuel Macron said on Sunday.
"In times of aggression, we must be strong to be feared. I have decided to equip France with a new aircraft carrier," Macron was quoted as saying by French media at a Christmas event at a French military base in the United Arab Emirates.
With a displacement of around 80,000 tons, the carrier will be almost twice as heavy as its predecessor, the Charles de Gaulle.
At 310 metres long and 85 metres wide, it is designed to accommodate 30 fighter jets and 2,000 crew members.
Construction is estimated to cost up to €10 million ($11.7 million). The carrier is expected to be operational from 2038, Defence Minister Catherine Vautrin said on X.
France is the only country besides the US that owns a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier. The Charles de Gaulle was commissioned in 2001.
LATEST POSTS
- 1
What's The Friendliest City In The United Kingdom? - 2These are the Fastest Italian Sports Cars
- 3As reefs vanish, assisted coral fertilization offers hope in the Dominican Republic
- 4Bahrain cracks down on dissent as war grinds on
- 5Netflix is releasing a documentary on Elizabeth Smart. What to know about her kidnapping, rescue and where she is now.
- New movies to watch this weekend: See 'The Running Man' in theaters, rent 'One Battle After Another,' stream 'Nobody 2' on Peacock
- Figure out How to Stay away from Normal Handshaking Missteps
- Remote Headphones: Improve Your Sound Insight
- New York to require social media platforms to display mental health warnings
- Iran begins cloud seeding to induce rain amid historic drought
- What loving-kindness meditation is and how to practice it in the new year
- NASA's SPHEREx telescope completes its 1st cosmic map of the entire sky and it's stunning!
- The new queen of country music has no scandals and no gimmicks — and just broke a record set by Taylor Swift
- Daily Briefing: A bad flu season gets worse
