Announced by French President Emmanuel Macron on the 9th of March, 10 additional French warships are being pledged to the Middle Eastern theater amidst the ongoing war with Iran.
The 10 additional ships will be tasked with escort duties for commercial ships attempting to cross the Strait of Hormuz, a key choke point for global oil supplies transiting to and from the Gulf states, responsible for supplying significant portions of the world’s total oil demand. The deployment also coincides with Iranian strikes on NATO and EU partners at RAF Akrotiki Airbase in Cyprus and Iranian ballistic missile intercepts over Türkiye by the U.S Navy.
“Air and sea power is deployed to ensure the security and protection of our fellow citizens and European nationals, to support our regional partners in their defense and to guarantee freedom of navigation and maritime security.”
– Nicolas Vaujour, Chief of Staff of the French Navy on LinkedIn
French Aircraft Carrier FS Charles De Gaulle (R91) and it’s escort has been dispatched to assist defensive efforts in the Middle East. USNI reports that the French carrier strike group, which has been spotted speeding towards the Eastern Mediterranean Sea, consists of Horizon-class Frigate Chevlier Paul (D621), Spanish Navy Frigate ESPS Cristóbal Colón (F105), Dutch Frigate HNLMS Evertsen (F805), an additional FREMM type frigate, a fleet oiler, and an attack submarine.
Aquitaine-class Frigate Languedoc (D653) has also dispatched to assist in the defense of Cyprus along with supplemental French air defense and counter-drone forces. In addition to Naval assets, French Air Force Rafales have participated in defensive operations over the UAE, primarily geared towards downing Iranian one-way attack drones.
The mission these 14+ French Vessels will partake in has been stated to be “purely defensive” in nature, with only escort and counter-air operations on the table. A more limited mission set will thus bar these vessels from joining in strikes carried out by Israeli, Emirati, and American forces, but will still provided much needed protection for merchant shipping, which has almost ground to a halt in the strait. The deployment of this many vessels marks one of the highest periods of availability in the French Navy, as editor-in-chief Xavier Vavasseur notes that the main French Navy base at Toulon is almost completely barren.
A French LHD Dixmude set sails on 17 February 2026 for the Indo-Pacific as part of the “JEANNE D’ARC 2026” mission. The vessel and its frigate escort are now off the coast of Somalia, participating in ATALANTA. An Horizon type air defense destroyer is currently participating in operation ASPIDES in the Red Sea while a FREMM frigate is likely still deployed near Hormuz.
In parallel with the French forces listed above, European countries have also begun to rush assets into the Middle East area of operations to protect both European targets, territory, and partner countries in the region. These assets join 3 United States carrier groups and land-based aircraft of the United States Air force, Gulf country Air forces, and the Israeli Air force.
Joining the Languedoc and French forces deployed to Cyprus, the British Type-45 Destroyer HMS Dragon (D35) and it’s air wing of 2 Wildcat helicopters has also been dispatched, leaving port earlier on the 10th of March. Defense News states that 4 Greek and 6 Turkish F-16 Multi-role fighter jets have also been based in Cyprus, augmenting a force of 2 Greek Frigates, one of which is the recently delivered HS Kimon, a French built “Frégate de Défense et d’Intervention” or “FDI” type Frigate. Additionally, the Italian Navy’s Bergamini-class FREMM Frigate the ITS Martinengo has also been deployed to Cyprus. The German Baden-Württemberg-class Frigate, the Nordrhein-Westfalen (F223) has been spotted in Cyprus but it was conducting UNIFIL tasking off Lebanon and its current assignment remain unclear.
8 British Air Force Typhoon FGR4 fighter jets have also been stationed in Qatar as apart of the joint 12 Squadron, with 4 arriving after the conflict with Iran had broken out. The Typhoons are joined by Royal Air Force F-35B Lightning IIs, with at 6 deployed to RAF Akrotiki in Cyprus, one of which scored a victory over an Iranian drone in Jordanian airspace, marking the first air-to-air kill of a Lightning in British service.
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