France’s Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier group is moving into the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, as part of efforts by France and Britain to prepare for a future mission to help freedom of navigation on the Strait of Hormuz, Reuters reports, citing the French military.

The French Armed Forces ministry says in a statement that the aircraft carrier group has crossed the Suez Canal, en route to the south of the Red Sea.

This French aircraft carrier strike group was deployed to the eastern Mediterranean shortly after the US and Israel launched air strikes on Iran, and it can stay at sea between four and five months.