10 Additional French Warships to be Sent to the Middle East
Announced by French President Emmanuel Macron on the 9th of March, 10 additional French warships are being pledged to the Middle Eastern theater amidst the ongoing war with Iran
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The 10 additional ships will be tasked with escort duties for commercial ships attempting to cross the Strait of Hormuz, a key choke point for global oil supplies transiting to and from the Gulf states, responsible for supplying significant portions of the world’s total oil demand. The deployment also coincides with Iranian strikes on NATO and EU partners at RAF Akrotiki Airbase in Cyprus and Iranian ballistic missile intercepts over Türkiye by the U.S Navy.
French Aircraft Carrier FS
Charles De Gaulle (R91) and it’s escort has been dispatched to assist defensive efforts in the Middle East.
USNI reports that the French carrier strike group, which has been spotted speeding towards the Eastern Mediterranean Sea, consists of
Horizon-class Frigate
Chevlier Paul (D621), Spanish Navy Frigate ESPS
Cristóbal Colón (F105), Dutch Frigate
HNLMS Evertsen (F805), an additional FREMM type frigate, a fleet oiler, and an attack submarine.
Aquitaine-class Frigate
Languedoc (D653) has also dispatched to assist in the defense of Cyprus along with supplemental French air defense and counter-drone forces. In addition to Naval assets, French Air Force Rafales have participated in defensive operations over the UAE, primarily geared towards downing Iranian one-way attack drones.
The mission these 14+ French Vessels will partake in has been stated to be “purely defensive” in nature, with only escort and counter-air operations on the table. A more limited mission set will thus bar these vessels from joining in strikes carried out by Israeli, Emirati, and American forces, but will still provided much needed protection for merchant shipping, which has almost ground to a halt in the strait.
The deployment of this many vessels marks one of the highest periods of availability in the French Navy, as editor-in-chief Xavier Vavasseur notes that the main French Navy base at Toulon is almost completely barren.
A French LHD
Dixmude set sails on 17 February 2026 for the Indo-Pacific as part of the “JEANNE D’ARC 2026” mission. The vessel and its frigate escort are now off the coast of Somalia,
participating in ATALANTA. An Horizon type air defense destroyer is currently participating in operation ASPIDES in the Red Sea while a FREMM frigate is likely still deployed near Hormuz……