Article Posted on : - Sep 26, 2012

Aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle. A DCNS photo

PARIS (BNS): Shipbuilder DCNS has received a contract from the French Navy to provide through-life support services to the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle over the next four years.

The contract, worth 221 million euro (USD 284 million), calls for comprehensive through-life support services through until mid-2016, including three layups, ensuring the vessel's operational availability, the shipbuilder announced on Sept 24.

The contract is based on firm commitments to service quality and technical performance, it said.

The Charles de Gaulle is France's flagship and only aircraft carrier. The 40,000 tonne warship was launched in 1994 and commissioned into the Navy in 2001.

The ship can operate a fleet of up to 40 aircraft, including the Rafale fighter jets, the E-2C Hawkeye airborne early warning aircraft and NH 90 helicopters among others.