During its operational readiness training (MECO), the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle conducted a particularly ambitious firing campaign from November 28 to 30, 2025, validating new onboard ammunition capabilities.
Catapult launch of a Rafale Marine armed with a 1000 kg AASM missile – © French Navy
During its operational readiness training (MECO), the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle conducted a particularly ambitious firing campaign from November 28 to 30, 2025, validating new onboard ammunition capabilities.
An ambitious shooting campaign
The campaign was marked by innovations, including the use of AASM 1000 kg munitions in training. Munitions, with French-made bomb bodies (BA-84), were loaded onto the quayside for the first time, while other high-yield bombs were transferred on board by Tralourd (Heavy Load Transfer) from the BRF Jacques Chevallier and fired only a few hours after being loaded.
This firing campaign also enabled the execution of raids over 1,000 nautical miles towards the Karavia firing range (Greece), in complete autonomy, thanks to the pre-positioning of Rafale Marine in ” super nanny ” configuration on the Grottaglie air base (Italy).
Conclusive results, a collective success
The “weapons” technicians assigned on board played a key role in this firing campaign, assembling more than 20 bombs in three days, including four prepared at night on the flight deck.
All the munitions fired (250, 500 and 1000 kg) reached their objectives, on the firing range or on floating targets, making these complex maneuvers a real success.
This result is the fruit of remarkable teamwork, involving the sailors of the aircraft carrier, Squadrons 11F and 12F, Rafale Marine pilots, as well as all the stakeholders in the aircraft carrier’s logistics and operational chain. Their professionalism enabled the successful completion of this operation under particularly realistic conditions but also marked by the current phase of the embarked air group’s (GAé) ramp-up.