On October 18, local time, the 28th European Maritime Defense Exhibition (Euronaval 2022) opened in Paris, France, and French Defense Minister Sebastien Le Corney opened the exhibition. At the exhibition, French defense company Naval Group brought the latest rendering pictures, animated videos and models of France's new generation aircraft carrier (Porte-avions de nouvelle génération, PANG), which Le Corney also visited.
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PANG rendered animated video released by Naval Group Video source: Naval Group's official Twitter
Latest PANG renderings Image source: Naval Group's official Twitter
French Defense Minister visits the Next Generation Aircraft Carrier (PANG) model Image source: French Ministry of Defense
Correspondingly, the technical specifications of the aircraft carrier have also been updated, according to a report on the US "Naval News" website, under the latest plan, the PANG's full load displacement reaches about 75,000 tons, the total length increases to 310 meters, and the flight deck area is about 17,000 square meters, of which the most obvious change compared with the indicators initially revealed in 2020 is that the maximum speed has been increased from 26 to 27 knots to 30 knots, clearly requiring to exceed the active "Charles de Gaulle" aircraft carrier. On the other hand, the model reflects the modification of its appearance characteristics, compared with the previous versions of the renderings and physical models, the island part of the exhibited model has undergone major changes, the shape of the ship island has been redesigned, and the original "droplet" or "pointed hat" shaped top has been replaced with a more traditional mast structure to install several spherical communication radomes, but the four-sided "Seafire" phased array radar has been retained and its installation position has been modified.
In the early model/rendering, the top of the PANG island is in the shape of a "pointed hat"
Part of the close-up of the PANG model ship island on Euronaval 2022, which has changed significantly from the previous earlier scheme Image source: Naval News
When France began discussing the successor to the Charles de Gaulle in 2018, in addition to the debate over nuclear or conventional power, it was also one of the matters that could not be decided whether to retain the 2-seat catapult consistent with the Charles de Gaulle or increase it to 3 catapults. On December 8, 2020, French President Emmanuel Macron officially approved the construction of a new aircraft carrier, and also disclosed the PANG's decision to adopt nuclear power, but in various official renders and models to date, the structure of 2-seat catapult and 3-seat catapult often alternates, and in the Maritime News report, the catapult part of the latest plan is still marked as "2 or 3 EMALS (electromagnetic catapults provided by General Atomic Energy)", the report said. Operational benefits and integration issues and costs are still being evaluated, and a three-seat catapult option can still be selected in discussions with the U.S.", an undecided plan that was also reflected in the model at the exhibition.
In previous rounds of rendered images, the 2 catapult scheme and the 3 catapult scheme appear frequently
In the 2021 version of the model, it is obvious that there is only one catapult on the right side of the bow and one in the port side of the floating part
The latest scheme model at Euronaval 2022, the bow port side catapult position is depicted in a lighter gray color to show that this is an "optional" option Image source: Naval News
The relatively detailed schedule of the PANG project in the future was also disclosed, including the first sea trials expected at the end of 2035 or early 2036, delivery from the end of 2036 to early 2037, and completion of commissioning at the end of 2037, compared with the earlier disclosed plan, the formal development and production phase at the end of 2025 or early 2026 and the completion of service in 2038 have not changed much, on the question of whether a second PANG will be built, the project manager said, There is no deadline on whether to order a second PANG, depending on the needs of the French armed forces, there is still the possibility of building a second one".
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