France's only aircraft carrier back in action

France's aircraft carrier, the nuclear-powered Charles de Gaulle, is back in action after a difficult two-year refit.

France's aircraft carrier, the nuclear-powered Charles de Gaulle, is back in action after a difficult two-year refit, amid indications it could be called upon for Afghan duty.

The Charles de Gaulle was brought into the dockyard in mid-2007 for repairs which eventually had to be extended for six months because of problems with the propeller shafts, leaving the French fleet without carrier cover.

The bad luck continued even after the 40,000-tonne vessel was ship-shape.

Two Rafale fighters were lost in September, just after the Charles de Gaulle first went back to sea. The two jets are believed to have collided in mid-air and only the body of one pilot has been found.

The carrier with its crew of 1,950 are now on major trials in the Mediterranean before it resumes full service. Defence Minister Herve Morin was onboard on Wednesday night to watch take off and landing exercises.

Asked whether the Charles de Gaulle would return to the Indian Ocean to support the international force in Afghanistan, Morin said the chiefs of staff had "already started thinking" about the plan but there had been no decision.

The carrier took part in operations off the Pakistan coast in 2001-02, 2004, 2006 and 2007 and jets launched from its flight decks were among the first to hit Al-Qaeda targets in Afghanistan after the September 11 attacks.