"Obsolete weapons do not deter."
- British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher

Charles de Gaulle is the flagship of the French Navy (Marine Nationale) and the largest western European warship currently in commission. She is the tenth French aircraft carrier, the first French nuclear-powered surface vessel, and the only nuclear-powered carrier completed outside of the United States Navy. She is named after French statesman and general Charles de Gaulle.

The ship carries a complement of Dassault Rafale M and E‑2C Hawkeye aircraft, EC725 Caracal and AS532 Cougar helicopter for combat search and rescue, as well as modern electronics and Aster missiles. She is a CATOBAR-type carrier that uses two 75 m C13‑3 steam catapults of a shorter version of the catapult system installed on the U.S. Nimitz-class aircraft carriers, one catapult at the bow and one across the front of the landing area. Thanks to her characteristics, Charles de Gaulle is the only non-American carrier-vessel in the world able to operate American aircraft such as the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet or C-2 Greyhound, which operate from American carrier-vessels.

Pictured here is a 1:700 scale replica of the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle (R91). Pre-order! Price and ship date to be determined.

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Historical Account: "Operation Chammal" - In January 2015, Charles de Gaulle began being prepared for exercises in the Indian Ocean. In late February, the carrier and its battle group entered the Persian Gulf to participate in Operation Chammal against Islamic State militants in Iraq. France was the first country to join the American-led intervention and has 15 fighters, a patrol aircraft, and refueling aircraft based on land in neighboring countries. The addition of Charles de Gaulle added up to another 30 aircraft to France's commitment to operations. The carrier battle group arrived in the Persian Gulf on February 15th, 2015, and began launching airstrikes on February 22nd; this occurred seven weeks after the Charlie Hebdo attacks, as France vowed to be more responsive to jihadist terrorism. Sailing off the north coast of Bahrain, the carrier's 12 Rafale and 9 Super Etendard fighters could reach targets in half the time it would take French fighters based in the United Arab Emirates. Charles de Gaulle left the Persian Gulf in late-April 2015 after launching strike and surveillance missions against IS targets to participate in exercises with the Indian military; the carrier launched 10-15 sorties per day during its two-month deployment.

On November 5th, 2015, France announced Charles de Gaulle would return to the area to conduct operations and the ship departed from its base in Toulon, southern France, on November 18th. Although originally planned to redeploy to the Persian Gulf, the carrier and its strike group was re-routed to the Eastern Mediterranean Sea off the Syrian coastline, much closer to targets within Syria. Sources claim Charles de Gaulle has a larger than normal air wing of 26 fighters consisting of 18 Rafales and 8 Super Etendards; the carrier has approximately 31-34 aircraft total (the official limit is 40 aircraft, 35 Rafales, two Hawkeyes and three helicopters) The carrier began operations on November 23rd, 2015, 10 days after the ISIL terrorist attacks in Paris. On December 7th, 2015, Rear Admiral Rene-Jean Crignola of the French Maritime Force, embarked in Charles de Gaulle, took command of U.S. Naval Forces Central Command's Task Force 50, leading coalition naval strike operations. He was the first non-American to do so.

In June 2016, the United States Navy awarded the crew of the Charles de Gaulle a Meritorious Unit Commendation for its accomplishments.

In late September 2016, the Charles de Gaulle was deployed from Toulon to the Syrian coast for the Battle of Mosul. Its squadron of 24 Rafale M jets is supporting the international coalition against ISIL through airstrikes and reconnaissance missions.