Rafale and Super Etendard jets Launched and Recovered from French Nuclear Aircraft Carrier

February 8, 2015 Aircraft Carriers, Military Aviation

David Cenciotti

Footage from aboard aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle, cruising towards the Indian Ocean.

Before it crossed the Suez Canal on Jan. 26 the carrier battle group “Arromanches,” built around the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle, has conducted operations and exercises with allied forces in the Mediterranean sea.

12 Rafale, 9 Super Étendard Modernisés (SEM), one E-2 Hawkeye and 4 helicopters are embarked on the carrier that is expected to join the French military operation in Iraq against the Islamic State soon.

UK’s Response Force Task Group heading to the Mediterranean Sea

About David Cenciotti

David Cenciotti is a journalist based in Rome, Italy. He is the Founder and Editor of “The Aviationist”, one of the world’s most famous and read military aviation blogs. Since 1996, he has written for major worldwide magazines, including Air Forces Monthly, Combat Aircraft, and many others, covering aviation, defense, war, industry, intelligence, crime and cyberwar. He has reported from the U.S., Europe, Australia and Syria, and flown several combat planes with different air forces. He is a former 2nd Lt. of the Italian Air Force, a private pilot and a graduate in Computer Engineering. He has written five books and contributed to many more ones.