As we have been reporting during the past few days, today, April 25th, we expect the arrival of the helicopter carrier Tonnerre and the frigate Guépratte of the French National Navy to the city of Buenos Aires. The arrival of the ships, belonging to Operation “Jeanne d’Arc 2024”, is part of a scheduled stop in their official itinerary, foreseeing their stay in the capital until April 29th when they will depart to continue their route towards the city of Ushuaia in Tierra del Fuego.
During the past weeks, the units taking part in the mission have been actively involved in the Caribbean Sea and the South Atlantic. The first part of their engagement was the evacuation of nationals from Port-au-Prince in Haiti due to the wave of violence between late March and early April. In this regard, the helicopter carrier Tonnerre joined the repatriation efforts initiated by the French government, which also included the deployment of resources from the Air and Space Army such as A400M transport planes. These planes transported special operations helicopters that would later operate from the ship.
Subsequently, prior to their stop in the city of Buenos Aires, Tonnerre and the frigate Guépratte have just completed amphibious exercises with resources and personnel from the Brazilian Navy. These activities highlighted the participation of the Brazilian multipurpose ship Atlântico and resources from the marine infantry, where amphibious assault operations were carried out forming a Combined Task Group in the waters of Baía de Sepetiba.
In addition to the strictly amphibious operations, the Brazilian and French multipurpose ships, together with support units, such as frigates, carried out naval maneuvers. These involved the aforementioned NAM Atlántico and the Tonnerre helicopter carrier, along with the Guépratte frigates of the National Navy and the Liberal frigate of the Brazilian Navy.
*Ongoing news.
About Operation Jeanne d’Arc 2024
As we reported almost a month ago, the Jeanne d’Arc mission is made up of the Tonnerre L9014 amphibious helicopter carrier and the La Fayette-class frigate Guépratte. Both units plan to tour the American continent, both along its Atlantic and Pacific coasts. During Jeanne d’Arc, amphibious exercises are planned to be carried out in Brazil (Belém and Río de Janerio) and Chile (Valparaíso), while Buenos Aires, Ushuaia, Puerto Williams, Lima and Cartagena will be some of the ports where the ships will make calls.
Jeanne d’Arc 2024 is made up of 650 sailors, 162 cadets from the Navy Officer Application School (EAOM), 35 instructors and 120 soldiers from the Army. The latter make up an Embarked Tactical Subgroup [S/GTE], which has 40 vehicles of all types for amphibious operations. As previously mentioned, both ships carry helicopters.
The Jeanne d’Arc 2024 Mission not only responds to a convergence of French interests in the region, but it is developed within the framework of the closing of the training process for future officers of the National Navy. It is for this reason that the groups’ activities are oriented towards academic and operational activities, incorporating the advantage of being able to cooperate with the Armed Forces of friendly nations.
*Photographs used for illustration.
You may also like: The navies of Brazil and France deployed their multipurpose ships NAM Atlântico and Tonnerre in amphibious operations during Operation “Jeanne d’Arc 2024”
