The aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle is deployed in the Mediterranean with its carrier group for the exercise Fanal 2019.

30 Rafale M fighter jets , two Hawkeye E- 2C command and control aircraft , one Dauphin helicopter and one NH90 helicopter. It is the major air group deployed on the deck of the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle and can be identified on a photo published by the Navy.

The air group more generally includes about 20 Rafale be the equivalent of two fleets. As a reminder, 42 Rafale M total were delivered to the Navy.  (Groupe AéroNaval /GAN) as part of Exercise Fanal 2019.  According to the staff of the armed forces, this is a large-scale operational training aimed at changing the entire GAN in all its spectrum of employment.

This is the last step in the recovery of Charles de Gaulle since the end of its renovation project mid-life in the summer of 2018. The building was initially trained alone to prepare its crew, then with his airborne group to qualify and train the pilots. Fanal 2019 can therefore be used to train the entire GAN, which usually includes an air defence frigate, an anti-submarine frigate, a nuclear attack submarine and a refuelling vessel at sea. is commanded by a staff embarked aboard Charles de Gaulle . The United States, Spain and Italy also participate in the exercise.

When fully qualified, the GAN is to be deployed in 2019 in the Indian Ocean and Asia.