French carrier Charles de Gaulle heads home for major overhaul

France’s flagship naval vessel and the country’s only aircraft carrier, Charles de Gaulle, is concluding its mission in Middle Eastern waters.

The carrier is expected to arrive soon at the port of Toulon in southern France, where it will undergo scheduled technical maintenance, a military source told BFMTV.

The overhaul had been planned in advance, even before the vessel was deployed to the region.

While the carrier is in port, its operational role in the Eastern Mediterranean will be temporarily taken over by a Mistral-class helicopter carrier, while the accompanying air-defence frigate will be replaced by a similar warship.

By Jeyhun Aghazada