Charles de Gaulle — the brigadier general and former leader of France — may have perished in Colombey-les-Deux-Églises in 1970, but, in some form, he lives on, in the shape of an extremely enormous warship that bears his name and belongs to the French military.

And that behemoth (pictured above — an aircraft carrier) will now sail to Syria and Iraq to take on the Islamic State (ISIS), according to the BBC.

Basically, it’ll make it easier and quicker for French fighter jets to carry out airstrikes.

Francois Hollande, the president of France, detailed the choice as a “rational choice” that would make coordinating attacks on the militants with their allies a lot more “efficient”.

More from the BBC:

France has been targeting IS in Iraq as part of the US-led coalition since September 2014. In September this year French forces began air strikes in Syria.

The Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier has already been deployed against IS.

The ship – France’s only such vessel – was used as a base for French jets in the Gulf from February to April.

France is currently using six Mirage jets stationed in Jordan and six Rafale jets in the United Arab Emirates to target IS.

The aircraft carrier can hold up to 40 aircraft and support 100 flights a day.