France’s Charles de Gaulle (R91) is the only nuclear-powered aircraft carrier outside the U.S. fleet — half the size of a Nimitz-class but built around the same CATOBAR catapults and arresting gear. The CDG’s Landing Signal Officers train for two years in the United States. In 2025, during the CDG’s first Pacific deployment, U.S. F/A-18 Super Hornets from the USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70) and French Rafale-Ms from the Charles de Gaulle conducted cross-deck landings. The Nimitz displaces 100,000 tons compared with the CDG’s 42,000 tons and is approximately 200 feet longer — large enough to launch one aircraft per minute. The CDG operates 40 aircraft, primarily 30 Dassault Rafale Ms.
Charles de Gaulle vs. the Nimitz-Class: Aircraft Carrier Showdown? Not Quite
U.S. 5TH FLEET AREA OF OPERATIONS (April 24, 2019) A U.S. Marine MV-22 Osprey assigned to the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit sits on the flight deck of France’s Marine Nationale aircraft carrier FS Charles De Gaulle (R 91). This was the second time that Ospreys have landed aboard the French vessel. Marines and Sailors assigned to the 22nd MEU and Kearsarge Amphibious Ready Group are currently deployed to the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations in support of naval operations to ensure maritime stability and security in the Central region, connecting the Mediterranean and the Pacific through the western Indian Ocean and three strategic choke points. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Maj. Joshua Smith/Released)
The naval battles of World War II saw the rise of the aircraft carrier, and the United States has led the way in carrier development. Our NATO allies also operate aircraft carriers.
Today, with the supercarriers of the Nimitz and Ford classes, that trend of building supercarriers continues. But the US isn’t the only country with outstanding nuclear-powered aircraft carriers.
France, which has built ten aircraft carriers, has the nuclear-powered Charles de Gaulle (CDG). France is the only other country to have a nuclear-powered carrier. China is currently building its fourth carrier, which is reportedly nuclear-powered and will be even larger than the Ford class.
It Is Smaller Than A Nimitz-class Carrier But Packs A Punch
Though the CDG is only about half the size of the Nimitz or Ford classes of the U.S. Navy, the CDG is still a formidable warship.
The Ford-class aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) and the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) transit the Atlantic Ocean June 4, 2020, marking the first time a Ford-class and a Nimitz-class aircraft carrier operated together underway. Ford is underway conducting integrated air wing operations, and the Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group remains at sea in the Atlantic as a certified carrier strike group force ready for tasking in order to protect the crew from the risks posed by COVID-19, following their successful deployment to the U.S. 5th and 6th Fleet areas of operation. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Riley McDowell)
The Ford-class aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) and the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) transit the Atlantic Ocean June 4, 2020, marking the first time a Ford-class and a Nimitz-class aircraft carrier have operated together underway. Ford is underway conducting integrated air wing operations, and the Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group remains at sea in the Atlantic as a certified carrier strike group force ready for tasking in order to protect the crew from the risks posed by COVID-19, following their successful Day 295. The Ford’s crew has been at sea since June. The Vietnam-era record is next. A laundry fire forced repairs in Crete and Croatia. Reports say 12-14 months to fix. In 1942, the Yorktown was repaired in 3 days after a 551-pound bomb plunged 50 feet into the ship. Admiral Nimitz demanded it. They delivered.
The Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77) sails in formation while underway in the Atlantic Ocean, Dec. 10, 2025. The George H. W. Bush Carrier Strike Group is underway for Group Sail, its first integrated at-sea training phase. This event is designed to increase the Strike Group’s tactical proficiency and lethality across all domains, meeting Navy and Joint warfighting requirements. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Mark Peña)
Ecuadorian Navy Esmeralda-class missile corvettes BAE Manabi (CM 12) and BAE Loja (CM 16) conduct formation maneuvering alongside Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68) and Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer USS Gridley (DDG 101), part of Nimitz Carrier Strike Group (NIMCSG), in the Pacific Ocean, April 8, 2026. Nimitz is deployed as part of Southern Seas 2026 which seeks to enhance capability, improve interoperability, and strengthen maritime partnerships with countries throughout the region through joint, multinational and interagency exchanges and cooperation. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Apprentice Julian Jaime)
She boasts a CATOBAR steam catapult system only slightly smaller than those found on U.S. carriers, which is still capable of launching F/A-18 E/F Super Hornets and C-2 Greyhounds if the situation called for it.
Meet The FS Charles de Gaulle (R91)
The De Gaulle carrier replaced the Foch, a conventionally powered aircraft carrier, in 2001. Clemenceau and Foch were completed in 1961 and 1963, respectively; the requirement for a replacement was identified in the mid-1970s.
The FS CDG was originally designed in the 1980s. The hull was laid down in April 1989 at the DCN Brest naval shipyard. The carrier was launched in May 1994 and, at 42,000 tons (full combat load)was the largest warship launched in Western Europe since HMS Ark Royal in 1950.
She was initially to be named Richelieu in 1986 by then-French president François Mitterrand, after the famous French statesman Armand-Jean du Plessis, Cardinal Richelieu, made famous in Alexandre Dumas’s novel “The Three Musketeers.”
However, on May 18, 1987, the ship’s name was changed to Charles de Gaulle by Gaullist Prime Minister Jacques Chirac.
The CDG experienced numerous work stoppages due to budget constraints before finally being completed and commissioned in mid-May 2001, five years after its projected deadline.
The carrier experienced teething troubles during its first few years of service before all the bugs were worked out on a totally new warship.
The carrier has a length of 857 feet, a beam of 211 feet, a draught of 30 feet 11 inches, and a height of 218 feet.
Some Differences Between De Gaulle And the Nimitz
The Nimitz is a tad more than 200 feet longer and has a displacement of 100,000 tons. This gives the US carrier more room to load and stage aircraft.
The carriers have a different runway configuration. The Nimitz features a multi-runway setup enabling simultaneous launch and recovery operations. The De Gaulle is smaller and limited to a single runway, preventing simultaneous launches and landings.
This gives the Nimitz the ability to launch more aircraft and at a faster rate than its ally, normally about one aircraft per minute.
The Carrier’s Powerplants
The CDG is powered by two Areva K15 pressurized water reactors (PWRs), each with a thermal output of 150 MWt, and two Alstom steam turbines with a total shaft power of 61 MW (82,000 hp). The reactors need refurbishment every seven years.
Due to its size, the Nimitz has two enormous A4W nuclear reactors that require refueling only once during their 50-year lifetimes.
The top speed of the CDG is 27 knots, following upgrades in 2007. She went through her midlife refueling in 2017. Since these upgrades were made, the Charles De Gaulle has been an outstanding aircraft carrier. The Nimitz can power along at 31 knots, which, considering its massive size, is quite an accomplishment.
The Nimitz Air Wing Gives It A Huge Advantage In Armaments
The CDG is equipped with numerous defensive armaments, including four eight-cell A-43 Sylver launchers that carry the MBDA Aster 15 surface-to-air missile. Two 6-cell Sadral launchers carrying Mistral short-range missiles
The carrier has 20mm autocannons for close-in air defense. Eight Giat 20F2 20 mm cannons (original armament), and three Nexter Narwhal (since 2019).
The CDG carries up to a full complement of 40 combat aircraft, consisting of 30 of the outstanding Rafale M fighters, two E-2C Hawkeye, two NFH Caïman Marine, one AS565 Panther ISR, and two AS365F Dauphin Pedro.
Military Watch Magazine lists the Nimitz Air Wing as its biggest asset.
“A major advantage of Nimitz-class carriers is the superiority of their air wings, not only in terms of size but also in quality. The U.S. retains a very considerable lead over France in its military aviation sector, with the size of its research and development investments being several times as large and in many ways more efficient.”
“American carrier air wings also benefit from the deployment of E/A-18G Growler electronic attack jets – a highly specialized design which is very well suited to suppressing enemy air defenses and which is well equipped with anti-radiation weapons. France has no equivalent to the Growler to deploy from its own carriers.”
Combat History Of the Charles De Gaulle
In November 2001, the French sent Task Force 473 in the waters off Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.
The task force under the command of Contre-Amiral François Cluz was composed of the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle, the frigates Lamotte-Picquet, Jean de Vienne, and Jean Bart, the nuclear attack submarine Rubis, the tanker Meuse, and the D’Estienne d’Orves-class aviso Commandant Ducuing.
The CDG carried out 770 sorties during her deployment. In February 2002, aircraft from the US carrier USS John Stennis and the CDG landed on each other’s carriers in a show of interoperability and the strength of the alliance.
At the end of the CDG’s deployment, US President George Bush complimented “our good ally, France, who has deployed nearly one-fourth of its navy to support Operation Enduring Freedom.”
The task force would complete another deployment in Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in 2005.
The CDG was involved in the no-fly zone over Libya in 2011 and was an integral part of the campaign to defeat the Islamic State in 2015. The CDG has proven to be a more-than-capable aircraft carrier, indicative of its status as the flagship of the French fleet.
The CDG’s First Pacific Deployment Promotes Freedom Of Navigation
In March of 2025, to strengthen ties with both the United States and Japanese naval forces, the CDG completed its first Pacific deployment.
“This port visit marks the last stage of our mission in the Pacific before setting sail further west for the exercise Varuna with our Indian partner,” the CSG’s commander, Rear Adm. Jacques Mallard, said.
“All the exercises and interactions carried out on this new area for the French Carrier Strike Group have not only strengthened our interoperability but also demonstrated our commitment to promoting a free, open, safe, and peaceful Indo-Pacific region.”
The French carrier strike group includes Charles De Gaulle, destroyer FS Forbin (D620), frigates FS Provence (D652) and FS Alsace (D656), and fleet oiler FS Jacques Chevallier (A725).
With China acting more aggressively in the Pacific, the US has hardly been alone in trying to maintain freedom of navigation in the region. That was the purpose of the CDG’s deployment, showing NATO’s resolve
French And US Carriers Working Together At Sea
Earlier last year, the CDG’s air group was deployed, working closely with the air and naval assets of the US and Japan, and showing just how far French naval aviation capabilities have grown since the Cold War.
At the conclusion of the exercises with the US and Japan, the CDG sailed to the ocean off of India to conduct joint exercises with Indian Navy units.
During the deployment, U.S. F/A-18 Super Hornets from USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70) and Rafale-Ms from Charles de Gaulle conducted cross-deck landings, highlighting the French carrier’s interoperability with U.S. Navy aircraft.
The De Gaulle Operates US CATOBAR Catapults And Arresting Gear
An example of the interoperability between US and French carriers, the catapult and arresting gear equipment is from the United States.
The CDG’s Landing Signal Officers (LSOs) train for two years in the U.S., making them familiar with directing U.S. naval aircraft for landing.
When looking at the two carriers, it is probably more important to list how they support each other than to find differences between the two allied vessels.
About the Author: Steve Balestrieri
Steve Balestrieri is a National Security Columnist. He served as a US Army Special Forces NCO and Warrant Officer. In addition to writing on defense, he covers the NFL for PatsFans.com and is a member of the Pro Football Writers of America (PFWA). His work was regularly featured in many military publications.
