Floating of the first new generation French frigate, “Amiral Ronarc’h”, on November 7, 2022 in Lorient (Morbihan) (AFP / FRED TANNEAU)
The first new generation frigate, five of which have been ordered by the French Navy and three by Greece, was launched on Monday in Lorient (Morbihan), eleven months after it was put on hold.
The defense and intervention frigate (FDI), a 122-metre long gray hull with an inverted bow, is to be the spearhead of the French combat fleet with the 8 multi-mission frigates (Fremm), including the construction of the last just ended.
In the next few days, the mast, a 150-tonne, 40-meter-high structure containing most of the sensors, must be integrated into the ship.
“Behind, these are the first sea trials that we will carry out next year”, for an entry into service scheduled for 2024, said the CEO of Naval Group, Pierre-Eric Pommellet. The other four frigates for France will be delivered between 2026 and the end of 2029.
French Minister for the Armed Forces Sébastien Lecornu (R), CEO of Naval Group Pierre-Eric Pommellet (center) and Greek Minister of Defense Nikos Panagiotopoulos (L) attend the launch of the first French new generation frigate , November 7, 2022 in Lorient (Morbihan) (AFP / FRED TANNEAU)
In parallel with this first of the series, baptized Admiral Ronarc’h, the construction of the second frigate, intended for Greece, has begun. Two copies must be delivered to Athens in 2025, the third the following year and Greece can also exercise an option to acquire an additional frigate.
For the Greek Minister of Defense Nikos Panagiotopoulos, who attended the ceremony, “this is a historic moment not only for France but also for European defense and the strategic autonomy of Europe”.
“Unfortunately these frigates will be used, because the sea is becoming a space of competition, a space of confrontation”, for his part estimated the Minister of the Armed Forces Sébastien Lecornu.
Weighing 4,500 tons, the FDI – Belharra for its export name – has a crew of 125 sailors and can accommodate up to 150 people. It will be able to embark a helicopter and an aerial drone as well as commandos with their light boats.
Highly digitized, it is the first ship whose cyber protection is integrated from the design of the program, argues the industrialist.
In addition to anti-submarine and anti-surfce warfare, it must be particularly effective in anti-aircraft warfare with its Sea Fire plate radar: unlike the traditional rotating radar, it provides constant 360° vision, reducing the reaction to a machine flying at very high speed.
The frigates destined for Greece will have the capacity to fire 32 Aster 30 anti-aircraft missiles, while those planned for France will only be able to fire 16.
© 2022 AFP
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