Britain and France will not share aircraft carriers

nrj

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British and French officials engaged in high-level defence talks have denied reports the two countries are considering sharing aircraft carriers, but are paving the way for unprecedented military co-operation, according to sources on both sides of the Channel.

Speaking on the eve of talks in Paris between the defence secretary, Liam Fox, and his French counterpart, Hervé Morin, officials said plans were being drawn up in an attempt to save money but maintain capabilities.

"We're in a phase where we must absolutely synchronise our budget cuts so that, in the end, there's no loss in our military capacities," a senior French diplomat told Agence France Presse news agency this week.

But British defence officials, irritated by reports of plans to "combine forces" and "share" ships, are keen to play down the significance of tomorrow's meeting. Morin is expected to be a victim of an imminent French government reshuffle.

"We will be looking at areas of closer co-operation between the two countries. But there are no plans to share carriers," British officials said.

Officials are instead pointing to the significance of the Franco-British summit between David Cameron and Nicolas Sarkozy, due to be held in England on 5 November. In a keynote address to ambassadors last month, Sarkozy said France was prepared to undertake "concrete" defence projects with Britain. He added: "We will be discussing this with them without taboos in November."

The results of the British government's strategic defence and security review are expected to be announced before the November summit, making it easier for Cameron and Sarkozy to announce specific plans for co-operation.

Recent reports the two countries were planning to share ships, notably aircraft carriers, have provoked a storm of protest. Lord Boyce, the former first sea lord, said: "You cannot co-own an asset. It is totally impracticable and simply won't work."


French military officials have also expressed concerns about the practical problems involved, including different warship design. The countries also have different interests or have taken opposing positions on key international issues, including the Falklands Islands, former French colonies in Africa and the invasion of Iraq.

However, there are many potential areas of defence co-operation, which British and French officials have been working on intensely throughout the summer.

Britain is building two carriers at a cost of £5.2bn which are due to enter service in 2016 and 2018. They are unlikely to fall victim of the defence review, officials say, if only because £2bn has already been spent on them and under the contracts with shipyards and the manufacturers BAE Systems, Babcock International, and the French company Thales, scrapping them would save less than £1bn.

France, which has one aircraft carrier, has delayed until next year a decision on whether to build a second one.


Instead of sharing carriers, Britain and France could ensure more effective co-operation on missions about which the two governments agree, officials say. These could include humanitarian operations such as those off Lebanon four years ago and in the Persian Gulf.

Britain and France could also increase the "interoperability" of their warships, provide surface escorts for each other's carriers, and synchronise nuclear missile submarine patrols, officials say.

Officials point to successful co-operation between the two countries in the past on maritime missions in the Mediterranean, the Adriatic and countering pirates off the Horn of Africa.

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Tshering22

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What happened to all that NATO bonhomie?:12:
 

Armand2REP

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Of course we will not share aircraft carriers. We do not always fight the same wars. Their only two options are to either cancel PoW, or sell us the hull. Thales designed it, so we will know how to fix it for our use. In exchange they can buy a couple squadrons of Rafale.
 

nrj

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This is the earlier report -

Historic rivals and modern day allies France and Britain are in talks on pooling their naval strength, officials said Aug. 31, after reports they might share a fleet of aircraft carriers.

"We're in a phase where we must absolutely synchronize our budget cuts so that, in the end, there's no loss in our military capacities," a senior French diplomat told AFP on the condition of anonymity.

"There was a lot of work over the summer. We are expecting a lot from the Franco-British summit in November. I hope there'll be real options," he said, adding that talks had been under way since June 18.

Another source close to the matter told AFP discussions were under way at a political level on possible cooperation in the use of aircraft carriers.

Separately, another French official confirmed that France's Defence Minister Herve Morin and Britain's Liam Fox would hold a news conference in Paris on Sept. 3, but declined to comment on the Aug. 31 press reports.

Any formal announcement is likely to have to wait until the Franco-British summit in November, when President Nicolas Sarkozy and Prime Minister David Cameron will be able to study the options, officials said.

The British daily The Times reported that Paris and London plan to share the use of two British and one French aircraft carriers in order to save money while still maintaining a vessel always at sea for their common defense.

Britain's Ministry of Defence refused to confirm or deny the report.

"The defense secretary has made clear that tough decisions will need to be made but the complex process of a strategic defense and security review will be concluded in the autumn," a spokesman said.

"Speculation at this stage about its outcome is entirely unfounded."

Nevertheless, the reports followed a series of public suggestions that France and Britain are preparing an announcement.

Last week, in a keynote foreign policy address, Sarkozy said: "I heard the declarations of our British allies on bilateral cooperation with France. We are ready to discuss this without taboo.

"France is ready to undertake concrete plans to allow us to accomplish the toughest combat missions," he added.

France and Britain were hard hit by the international financial crisis and are struggling to fund their militaries - the two most powerful in the European Union - while both are stretched by war in Afghanistan.

Britain has two aircraft carriers, though there are times when both HMS Ark Royal and HMS Illustrious are in dock, and has ordered two replacements at a cost of 5.2 billion pounds ($8 billion, 6.4 billion euros).

France operates the powerful Charles de Gaulle, a nuclear-powered vessel capable of launching fixed wing aircraft, but it is alone in its class in the French fleet and often at home undergoing maintenance.

According to reports, if Britain and France are able to agree to time their patrols so that there is always one carrier at sea, London may be able to cancel or downgrade one of the replacements - or sell it on.

For centuries the French and British fleets were the greatest rivals on the high seas, clashing regularly as the European neighbors built parallel global empires and raided each other's territory and shipping.

As recently as 1940 the Royal Navy sank a French fleet off the coast of Algeria - killing more than 1,200 sailors - amid fears it would fall under Nazi control after the World War II German invasion of France.

Since then, however, France and Britain have become allies within NATO and often conduct joint operations and exercises.

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sob

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Both the countries have strong defence industries who also compete in the international market. No way will they allow the sharing of assets to take place.
 

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