French President Emmanuel Macron said in his New Year speech to the French army that aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle will support “Chammal operations [in the Middle East] from January until April 2020,” Reuters has reported.
The deployment also includes the aircraft carrier's battle group, which is a group of smaller escorts that service the huge ship.
The Chammal operations are the ongoing missions taken by the French army in Iraq and Syria to fight ISIS and support the Iraqi military. The name is derived from the Shamal wind.
The aircraft carrier is nuclear-powered and can carry 550 aircrews and accommodate 800 marines, Naval Technology reported.