France moves carrier into Red Sea ahead of potential Hormuz mission

PARIS — France is deploying the carrier strike group centered on the Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier into the Red Sea and towards the Gulf of Aden, positioning the force for a possible mission to secure navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, the Armed Forces Ministry said on Wednesday.

The French nuclear aircraft carrier and its escorts will transit the Suez Canal on Wednesday on its way to the southern Red Sea, the ministry said, following a nearly two-month deployment in the eastern Mediterranean. France emphasized that the movement of its only aircraft carrier is separate from the military operations initiated in the region.

France and the United Kingdom are leading a group of more than 40 countries that is drawing up plans to help restore navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, which has been blocked due to the hostilities between the United States and Iran. French President Emmanuel Macron has said any multinational initiative to secure Hormuz would only happen once the hottest phase of the conflict subsides.

“Faced with the evolving international context in the Strait of Hormuz, the carrier strike group is now heading toward the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden,” the French Joint Staff said in a post on X . The pre-positioning is “aimed at reassuring and strengthening regional security” and is a “resolutely defensive initiative, fully in line with international law,” the joint staff said.

European countries have so far sought to keep their distance from the American-Israeli attacks on Iran, rejecting calls by President Donald Trump to support the U.S. in securing the Strait of Hormuz. Trump responded by calling European allies “cowards,” before saying the U.S. doesn’t actually need help and downplaying the role of allies.

Trump said Sunday the U.S. would start Project Freedom to ensure safe passage for commercial shipping through the strait, before saying Tuesday the military operation had been temporarily halted.

The French aircraft carrier is relocating to reduce the delay implementing the multinational Hormuz initiative as soon as circumstances permit, according to the ministry in Paris. France and the U.K. have said the international mission would be strictly defensive and operate in consultation with relevant countries.

The deployment will allow the carrier group to assess the regional operational environment before the initiative kicks off, integrate contributions from partner countries, as well as help reassure commercial shippers, the ministry said.

The Charles de Gaulle was deployed in the Mediterranean with an air wing of 20 Rafale jets and two E-2C Hawkeye airborne early warning aircraft as well as three helicopters. France is the only country besides the United States to operate a nuclear aircraft carrier with catapult launch systems, allowing the French Navy to operate fixed-wing airborne early warning as well as enabling heavier fighter payloads.

The Netherlands said the air-defense frigate Evertsen, which was part of the carrier group, has left the deployment and is steaming back to its home port of Den Helder.

Rudy Ruitenberg is a Europe correspondent for Defense News. He started his career at Bloomberg News and has experience reporting on technology, commodity markets and politics.

巴黎——法国武装部队部周三表示，法国正在将以“戴高乐”号航空母舰为中心的航母打击群部署到红海和亚丁湾，为可能执行的确保霍尔木兹海峡航行安全的任务做好准备。

法国国防部表示，法国核动力航空母舰及其护航舰艇将于周三通过苏伊士运河前往红海南部，此前该航母已在地中海东部部署近两个月。法国强调，其唯一一艘航空母舰的此次行动与在该地区展开的军事行动无关。

法国和英国正牵头一个由40多个国家组成的集团，制定计划以恢复霍尔木兹海峡的航行。由于美国和伊朗之间的敌对行动，该海峡一直处于封锁状态。法国总统马克龙表示，任何旨在确保霍尔木兹海峡安全的国际合作计划，只有在冲突最激烈的阶段结束后才会启动。

法国联合参谋部在X网站上发表声明称：“鉴于霍尔木兹海峡不断变化的国际形势，航母打击群目前正驶向红海和亚丁湾。”声明还指出，此次预先部署“旨在维护和加强地区安全”，是一项“完全符合国际法的坚决防御性举措”。

迄今为止，欧洲各国一直试图与美国和以色列对伊朗的袭击保持距离，拒绝了唐纳德·特朗普总统要求其支持美国确保霍尔木兹海峡安全的呼吁。特朗普的回应是称欧洲盟友为“懦夫”，随后又表示美国实际上并不需要帮助，并淡化了盟友的作用。

特朗普周日表示，美国将启动“自由计划”，以确保商船安全通过海峡；周二，他又表示该军事行动已暂时中止。

据巴黎外交部消息，法国航母将进行调动，以尽快落实多国合作的“霍尔木兹”倡议。法国和英国均表示，这项国际任务将严格以防御为目的，并与相关国家协商后开展。

该部表示，此次部署将使承运集团能够在计划启动前评估区域运营环境，整合伙伴国家的贡献，并有助于让商业托运人放心。

“戴高乐”号航母部署在地中海，舰载机包括20架“阵风”战斗机、两架E-2C“鹰眼”预警机以及三架直升机。法国是除美国以外唯一拥有配备弹射起飞系统的核动力航母的国家，这使得法国海军能够操作固定翼预警机，并可携带更重的战斗机载荷。

荷兰方面表示，作为航母战斗群一部分的防空护卫舰“埃弗森”号已经离开部署地点，正在驶回其位于登海尔德的母港。

鲁迪·鲁伊滕贝格是《防务新闻》的欧洲记者。他的职业生涯始于彭博新闻社，拥有报道科技、大宗商品市场和政治方面的经验。