Beginning on January 4, 2025, the aircraft carrier FNS Charles de Gaulle will serve as the leader of the French carrier strike group (CSG), which will halt at Goa and Kochi. This deployment is a component of Mission CLEMENCEAU 25, which seeks to improve Indo-Pacific maritime security and collaboration, especially through cooperative drills with Indian naval forces.
The mission’s primary goals are to support European activities in the Indo-Pacific and safeguard French interests there. Joint training exercises with regional partners, particularly India, are part of it.
As a coalition, the CSG and the Indian Navy will take part in the 42nd annual Varuna bilateral exercise, which aims to enhance communication between the two fleets and train crews for multifaceted threats (air, surface, and submarine).
The strike group will participate in Exercise Pacific Steller in the Pacific Ocean after making stops in India and then go on to the Indonesian zone for Exercise La Perouse.
The CSG is made up of:
The aircraft carrier FNS Charles de Gaulle
A fleet of aircraft that includes Rafale M combat jets
Supply ships and frigates are examples of escort vessels.
Because to its extensive exclusive economic zone and overseas territories, France has a considerable influence in the Indo-Pacific. The collaboration between France and India is part of a larger framework of collective security measures among Indian Ocean nations and marine safety initiatives.
