This should significantly improve power projection capabilities of both navies, particularly the Royal Navy.

Britain and France Develop New Carriers (Subscription Required)

Jun 13, 2007

Christina Mackenzie/Defense Technology International

Britannia rules the waves, the old standard declares, but now it looks like it’s going to share them with France–at least when it comes to launching the next generation of aircraft carriers.

Britain and France are on the verge of signing an agreement calling for three carriers to be designed and built in an Anglo-French partnership. The deal would be a milestone in cooperation between two countries with major differences in naval strategies and operational needs.

The reason for rapprochement is economics: At a total projected price of around $10 billion for three ships, the cost of developing and building the 65,000-ton carriers alone is too expensive for Britain and France to bear separately.

The program calls for Britain to take delivery of two aircraft carriers, the first and third, and for France to get one. The ships are slated to start entering service by 2015.

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An interesting note:

Meanwhile, France and the U.K. have invested a lot of money in studies to reduce the number of personnel needed to man and operate the carriers. The French ship, for example, will have around 20% less manpower than the Charles de Gaulle, although it is significantly larger and has greater operational capability.

This would appear to imply that reports of problems with the CdG are justified.