France Deploys Aircraft Carrier to Red Sea Ahead of Hormuz Security Mission
France has moved its Charles de Gaulle Aircraft Carrier Group into the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, in preparation for a future security mission in the Strait of Hormuz.
In a statement on Wednesday, the French Armed Forces Ministry said that the aircraft carrier group had crossed the Suez Canal, heading to the south of the Red Sea.
The deployment aims to support a future multinational maritime effort, led by France and the UK, to ensure freedom of navigation through the critical waterway, the statement noted.
According to the French Ministry, the deployment of Charles de Gaulle Aircraft Carrier Group will assess the regional operational environment before the launch of the mission and could provide additional crisis response options to strengthen regional security. It is also separate from the current military operations in the region.
Charles de Gaulle Aircraft Carrier Group was deployed to the eastern Mediterranean at the start of the US-Israeli war with Iran in late February 2026. It can stay at sea for as long as five months.
Following a summit in Paris in mid-April, with the participation of more than 50 countries and international organization, France and the UK announced they would lead a multinational defensive mission to protect commercial shipping through the Strait and conduct mine clearance operations when conditions permit.
The French announcement came as US President Donald Trump said he had paused “Project Freedom” – a US initiative to guide commercial ships through the Strait of Hormuz – due to “great progress” towards reaching a “complete and final agreement” with Iran.
The Strait of Hormuz is a strategic maritime corridor linking the Arabian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea, through which around a fifth of daily global oil supplies and LNG supplies pass.
