BRF Jacques Chevallier: The French refueling ship BRF Jacques Chevallier is part of the French Navy’s carrier strike group, which is currently on a mission called Clemenceau 25 in the Indo-Pacific region. While traveling in the Indian Ocean, the French ship performed a CONSOL operation with a commercial tanker called Stena Polaris. This was the first time the French Navy carried out such an operation.
Before the operation at sea, the two ships practiced together at the French naval base in Toulon. They tested the process of transferring fuel between a commercial tanker and a military ship, a method that could be useful when regular refueling options are not available.
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What is CONSOL?
The term CONSOL refers to the direct transfer of oil or supplies from a commercial tanker to a military vessel. This method allows military ships to get fuel without needing to stop at a port. Typically, military refueling ships must dock at ports to fill up before delivering fuel to other ships. However, CONSOL allows them to refuel at sea, which increases flexibility and makes refueling operations quicker.
The CONSOL operation is especially important when military ships are far from home bases or in areas where friendly ports are hard to find. Using CONSOL, ships can keep moving and operating without worrying about running out of fuel. Rear Admiral Philip Sobeck, who leads the Military Sealift Command (MSC), explained, “Direct refueling with commercial tankers allows us to quickly adapt to changes and send forces where they are needed without worrying about running out of fuel.”
According to Naval news, Colonel John Barry, from U.S. Transportation Command, added, “When we combine our abilities with those of our allies and commercial partners, we have more options and flexibility to fuel our forces.” This kind of partnership is helpful for keeping military operations going, even in areas with few support bases.
The CONSOL operation was part of a larger plan called the Strategic Interoperability Framework (SIF), which the U.S. Navy and French Navy started in December 2021. The goal of this plan is to improve cooperation between the two navies in high-end warfighting. This is not the first time the two navies have worked together on this kind of project. Just two months ago, the U.S. Navy’s destroyer USS Stout demonstrated reloading its vertical launching system (VLS) at a French naval base in Brest, France.
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French and U.S. navy ties
Both the French and U.S. navies are focusing on improving logistics, or how they move fuel, supplies, and ammunition. This is becoming more important as tensions rise in certain regions and naval operations take place far from home. The French Navy has been testing new systems, such as reloading missiles and transferring supplies to submarines while they are at sea. Similarly, the U.S. Navy has tested systems for reloading ships while they are underway.
These advancements in logistics are crucial because, in areas like the Red Sea, supplies can run out quickly, and it may be difficult for ships to get the supplies they need. With these new systems, military ships can stay operational, even in remote areas without nearby ports or supply bases.
