巴黎 — 法国海军参谋长克里斯托弗·克卢泽尔上将周三在此地的听证会上对议员们表示，法国正在研究查尔斯·戴高乐号核动力航空母舰是否能够继续在2038年预计退役之后继续航行，这将使该国拥有两艘航母舰队。
PARIS — France is studying whether the Charles de Gaulle nuclear-powered aircraft carrier can continue to sail beyond its envisaged retirement in 2038, which would give the country a fleet of two carriers, French Navy Chief of Staff Adm. Christophe Cluzel told lawmakers in a hearing here on Wednesday.
法国海军计划用一艘将于2038年命名为“自由法国”号的未来航母来取代查尔斯·戴高乐号，后者是美国海军以外目前唯一在役的核动力航空母舰。作为即将进行的大型改装的一部分，法国将根据船载系统和核动力装置的状态，研究查尔斯·戴高乐号是否能够继续延长服役时间，克卢泽尔表示。
The French Navy plans to replace the Charles de Gaulle, the only nuclear-powered aircraft carrier in operation outside the United States Navy, with a future carrier to be named France Libre in 2038. As part of an upcoming major refit, France will look into whether the Charles de Gaulle can continue to operate longer, based on the state of onboard systems and the nuclear propulsion, Cluzel said.
由于只有一艘航母，法国在查尔斯·戴高乐号因定期维护进入船坞期间随时可能没有可用航母，而议员们质疑海军高层时，关于法国是否需要第二艘航母的问题往往会被提出。
With a single carrier, France is without one any time the Charles de Gaulle is in dock for periodic maintenance, and the issue of whether the country needs a second carrier tends to pop up whenever lawmakers question Navy brass.
其中一个障碍是成本，未来“自由法国”号航母的预估预算为100亿欧元（约合112亿美元），这笔费用足以至少建造十艘新型FDI级护卫舰。
One obstacle is cost, with the estimated €10 billion budget (US$11.2 billion) for the future France Libre carrier enough to fund at least ten new FDI-class frigates.
“我们需要两艘航母吗？两艘航母可以让您从土伦保持持续警戒状态，”克卢泽尔在对国民议会国防委员会的发言中说道，他指的是查尔斯·戴高乐号位于法国南部的母港。“两艘航母是一种政治抱负，而判断其适用性不是我的职责。”该上将指出，保持海上永久存在需要拥有三艘航母。
“Do we need two carriers? Two carriers allow you to maintain a standing alert from Toulon,” Cluzel told the National Assembly’s defense committee, referring to the Charles de Gaulle’s home port in southern France. “Two carriers is a political ambition, and it’s not for me to decide on its suitability.”The admiral noted that keeping a permanent presence at sea would require having three carriers.
他表示，未来的“自由法国”号和查尔斯·戴高乐号将在2036年至2038年期间有两年的重叠服役期，届时将有两支航母舰队值班人员，海军参谋长称这是实现技能无缝过渡所必需的。这将是自上世纪90年代末以来，法国首次同时拥有两艘航母在役，当时海军正在运营常规动力的福赫号和克莱蒙梭号航母。
He said the future France Libre and the Charles de Gaulle will have two years of overlap in 2036-2038, with two aircraft-carrier crews on active duty, which the Navy chief said is necessary for a seamless transition of skills. That would be the first time the country has two carriers in service since the late 1990s, when the Navy operated the conventionally powered Foch and Clemenceau.
“这种能力的转换必须在没有任何中断的情况下进行，否则就会面临技能流失，重建这些技能将花费非常、非常长的时间，”克吕泽尔说。“因此，从2036年到2038年，海军将有一段时间能够同时拥有两艘可在海上作战的航母。”
“The transition on a capability like this has to happen without any break, at the risk of losing skills and taking a very, very long time to rebuild them,” Cluzel said. “So from 2036 to 2038 there is a period when the Navy will again have two carriers able to be at sea simultaneously.
法国表示，“自由法国”号航母长310米，排水量约8万吨，而“戴高乐”号航母长261.5米，排水量4.2万吨。目前的航母可搭载40架飞机的航空联队，主要是拉法莱战斗机的舰载版，此外还有两架E-2C“鹰眼”空中预警机和若干直升机。
”France has said the France Libre will measure 310 meters and displace about 80,000 tonnes, compared to 261.5 meters and 42,000 tons for the Charles de Gaulle. The current carrier can carry an air wing of 40 aircraft, mainly the naval version of the Rafale fighter as well as two E-2C Hawkeye airborne early warning aircraft and a number of helicopters.
克吕泽尔表示，关于延长“戴高乐”号服役寿命的研究将重点检查其核动力系统核心——反应堆堆芯的磨损情况，以及通过在航母上携带更长时间的燃料来延长作战能力的可能性。研究结果将在2029年初公布，并将成为决定性因素，他说。
Studies on extending the Charles de Gaulle’s service life will look at the wear on the reactor cores at the heart of the carrier’s nuclear propulsion system, and the ability to extend operations by keeping fuel on board the carrier for longer, according to Cluzel. The results are due in early 2029 and will be the deciding factor, he said.
“但这些研究还将涵盖航母的所有‘动脉’，因为航母的状况取决于其‘动脉’的状况，而其可用性最终不应取决于甚至单个辅助系统的可用性，也不应因此受到影响，”克吕泽尔说。“因此，这些研究将是真正全面的。”尽管美国总统特朗普下令美国海军恢复使用蒸汽动力弹射器，但法国仍坚持计划为“自由法国”号航母配备美国制造的电磁弹射器。克吕泽尔表示，他预计将在下周于华盛顿与他的美国同僚、海军上将达里尔·考德尔会面时讨论这一议题。
“But these studies will also cover all of the carrier’s arteries, because the carrier is as old as its arteries, and its availability must not ultimately hinge on or be compromised by the availability of even a single auxiliary system,” Cluzel said. “So they’re truly comprehensive studies.”France is sticking to a plan to fit the France Libre with U.S.-made electromagnetic catapults, despite U.S. President Donald Trump ordering the US Navy to revert to steam-powered catapults. Cluzel said he expects to discuss the topic in a meeting with his U.S. counterpart Adm. Daryl Caudle in Washington next week.
法国海军上将表示，电磁弹射器表现出“卓越可靠性”，自美国将其投入使用以来，已进行近4万次弹射，可用率约为98%。他说：“因此，这种弹射器不仅可靠，还能在使用灵活性方面带来巨大的作战增值，能够发射重型飞机以及无人机。”法国海军司令表示，他不认为该合同存在风险，原因之一是美国已经装备了三艘配备电磁弹射器和制动装置的核动力航母，这意味着生产线已经存在，且具备可行的维修、维护和大修方案。
Electromagnetic catapults have shown “formidable reliability,” with nearly 40,000 catapult launches since the U.S. took them into service, and an availability rate of around 98%, the French admiral said. “So this is remarkable for a catapult that also brings tremendous operational added value in terms of flexibility of use, in the ability to launch heavy aircraft as well as drones.”The French Navy chief said he doesn’t see the contract at risk, also because the U.S. already operates three nuclear-powered carriers with electromagnetic catapults and arresting gear, meaning a production line exists, and a viable maintenance, repair and overhaul program.
法国致力于降低其依赖性，正如它曾为戴高乐号航母上的蒸汽弹射器所做的那样，该国将在项目启动之初就采购“相当规模”的电磁弹射器备件库存，以确保能够独立进行维修，克吕泽尔如是说。
France is committed to limiting its dependencies, and similar to what it did for the steam-powered catapults on the Charles de Gaulle, the country will buy a “substantial” inventory of spare parts for its electromagnetic catapults right at the start of the program, to ensure it can perform repairs independently, according to Cluzel.
克吕泽尔表示，法国无需运营短距起飞和垂直着陆飞机，因为这类飞机会在航程或武器载荷方面做出妥协。他指出，“自由法国”号旨在成为一艘“制空母舰”。“而这正是具备弹射器和制动索的核动力航母所能提供的。”克吕泽尔还说，如今空海优势正受到挑战，“也许到处都是”，因此需要制空母舰，而任何行动恢复局部空海优势的第一步就是部署这样的航母。
Cluzel said he doesn’t see a need for France to operate short-takeoff and vertical-landing aircraft, which he said bring compromises in terms of either reduced range or armament. The France Libre is intended to be a “superiority carrier,” the admiral said. “And that is exactly what a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier with catapults and arresting cables provides.”With air and sea superiority now contested, “perhaps everywhere,” Cluzel said superiority carriers are now needed, with the first step of any operation to regain local air-sea superiority.
“在大洋中央，唯一获得空中优势的方式就是具备这种能力。”海军司令还讨论了新型“防御与干预护卫舰”（Frégate de Défense et d’Intervention），他表示该舰“正在兑现所有承诺”。他指出，由海军集团建造的这艘新护卫舰曾受到工业竞争对手的批评，但实际表现却“极具海上适航性和稳定性，这与你可能看到的报道完全相反。”
“In the middle of an ocean, the only way to have air superiority is to have this capability.”The Navy chief also discussed the new Frégate de Défense et d’Intervention, which he said “has been delivering on all its promises.”He said the new frigate built by Naval Group has been criticized by industrial competitors, but has proven to be “extremely seaworthy and stable, contrary to what you may have read.
克吕泽尔称，FDI新型平板雷达的探测能力“非凡”，性能“至少相当于”法国防空护卫舰上的雷达，尽管其安装位置相对水线更低。舰艇上数字处理的本土集成使声呐探测能力实现了“显著提升”，该上将表示。
”Cluzel called the detection capability of the FDI’s new flat-panel radar “remarkable,” with a performance “at least of the same level” as the radar on France’s air-defense frigates, despite being mounted lower above the waterline. The native integration of digital processing on the frigate brings a “significant gain” in sonar detection capability, the admiral said.