The European Union’s only nuclear-powered navy is preparing for war

The European Union’s only nuclear-powered navy is preparing for war amid growing concerns that hostilities are “increasingly likely”, according to a report.

Global tensions have increased in recent months, with the Russia-Ukraine war escalating in Eastern Europe and conflicts in the Middle East, including the Israel-Hamas war and attacks on Red Sea ships, raising the possibility of a broader conflict involving the West. There are growing concerns about .

France’s commander, Rear Admiral Jacques Marard, said in an interview with Politico Europe published Wednesday that the country’s navy is shifting its focus to “high-intensity warfare.”

“The possibility of a naval battle is increasing,” he said. “We’re moving from a world where we had a pretty free-for-all to a world where we feel threatened more regularly. Now we’re training for other missions, especially so-called high-intensity warfare. Masu.”

He said the French navy was training to be “a little more aggressive” against potential adversaries, calling them “not just people trying to do illegal smuggling, but people trying to steal fish. “And no one is trying to observe or monitor us.” : He is the one who wants to destroy us. ”

France is the only European Union member state to have nuclear submarines in its naval arsenal. In fact, only a handful of countries around the world have them, including the United States, Russia, China, the United Kingdom, and India.

According to the Nuclear Threat Initiative, France has six Rubis-class nuclear-powered attack submarines and six Amethyst-class nuclear-powered attack submarines in active service.

newsweek The French Ministry of Defense was contacted for comment via email.

Mallard told the magazine that in 2021, the French Navy began new training for naval combat, a move that “comes with a little more risk, but it really helps to uninhibit tactical thinking.” he added.

France has emerged as a key ally of Ukraine to protect itself from the Russian invasion launched by President Vladimir Putin in February 2022. So far, the conflict has largely been confined to eastern Ukraine, but there were fears it could spill over into the region. broader conflict.

For example, some of the Russian attacks landed near Poland, a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). If Russia were to attack a NATO member state, it would trigger a response based on Article 5 of the Charter, which states that an attack on one country is treated as an attack on all.

French President Emmanuel Macron has also said that “nothing should be ruled out” when it comes to defending Ukraine, raising questions about whether he would support sending troops to Kiev, which Putin sees as crossing a red line. It is occurring. He later clarified that his own comments did not necessarily mean France was considering sending in troops.