French President Emmanuel Macron has set out plans to develop a new $12 billion aircraft carrier, which would be the largest warship built in Europe.
The vessel would replace the ageing Charles de Gaulle warship and serve to bolster France's maritime defences.
Mr Macron announced the project, known as "Porte-Avions Nouvelle Generation" (Pang), while speaking to troops based at a French military base in Abu Dhabi, Reuters reported.
The French government said the ship would be at sea by 2038, when the Charles de Gaulle is expected to retire.
Work on nuclear propulsion components began last year and the final order must be placed under the 2025 budget.
"The decision to launch this vast programme was taken this week," Mr Macron said. The project is set to boost France's industrial base, in particular small and medium-sized businesses, he added.
French Armed Forces Minister Catherine Vautrin said the warship would replace the Charles de Gaulle, which entered service in 2001, after 15 years of planning and construction.
French President Macron attends military drills in Abu Dhabi 00:37
On Monday, Mr Macron attended military drills in Abu Dhabi in a further show of the robust strategic links between the long-standing allies.
In 2019, the UAE and France signed a military co-operation agreement on the 10th anniversary of their original bilateral defence partnership being sealed.
In January, the UAE received its first batch of Dassault Rafale fighter jets under a "historic" Dh63.56 billion ($17.3 billion) defence deal with France.
The Ministry of Defence said the delivery of the planes was in support of a wider effort to modernise the country's defence capabilities, including upgrading its air force fleet.
Eighty state-of-the-art fighter jets will be produced as part of the deal with French company Dassault Aviation.
An agreement to buy the planes was made in December 2021, after talks between President Sheikh Mohamed, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, and Mr Macron at Expo 2020 Dubai.
The Ministry of Defence said at the time it was t
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