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2015-12-01

DCNS commences sea trials for the FREMM Languedoc

The French Navy’s third FREMM multi-mission frigate, the Languedoc, has been floated out from DCNS’ Lorient shipyard to undergo sea trials off the coast of Brittany. The Languedocis the third FREMM ordered by OCCAR (Organization for Joint Armament Cooperation) on behalf of the DGA (French Defense Procurement Agency) and the French Navy.

OCCAR is an international organization whose core-business is the through-life management of cooperative defense equipment programs entrusted to it by the Member States. Amongst other things, OCCAR ensures the contracting of FREMM multi-mission frigates for France and Italy.

The main objective of the sea trials was to test the performance of the vessel’s propulsion and navigation system.

The FREMM Languedoc will benefit from a significant reduction in the duration of its sea trials compared to the previous FREMMs: six weeks instead of the previous eight.

DCNS has already delivered two FREMM Multi-Mission Frigates on schedule to the French Navy. By mid-2019, DCNS will have delivered six FREMM’s to the French Navy, in accordance with the Military Programming Law 2015-2019, as well as two FREMMs for the export market (The Royal Moroccan Navy and the Egyptian Navy).

The experience and lessons learned from the FREMMs already delivered enabled DCNS and its partners to proceed with the integration of the combat system’s sensors and weapons prior to the FREMM Languedoc’s first sea outing. This led to a reduction in the total time required for vessel trials – from six week to the previous eight. This optimized trial duration illustrates the transition to “series mode” or multi-mission frigates.

“The acceleration of the trial scheduling for the FREMM Languedoc is a demonstration of DCNS capacity to ensure efficient serial production”, explains Anne Bianchi, Director of the FREMM Program at DCNS.

The FREMM program will see DCNS build ten frigates, eight of them for the French Navy. Six of these will be delivered by 2019 and two frigates equipped with strengthened anti-aircraft capacities will be delivered before 2022. Two further units have been sold and delivered to Morocco and Egypt.

Under the project management of DCNS, the heavily-armed FREMM frigates are equipped with the most effective weapon systems and equipment, such as the Herakles multifunctional radar, the Naval Cruise Missile, the Aster and Exocet MM 40 missiles and the MU 90 torpedoes.

DCNS is a world leader in naval defense and an energy innovator. As an international high-tech company, DCNS uses its extraordinary know-how, unique industrial resources and capacity to arrange innovative strategic partnerships to meet its clients’ requirements.

The Group designs, builds and maintains submarines and surface vessels. The Group also proposes services for naval shipyards and bases. In addition, the Group offers a wide range of marine renewable energy solutions. DCNS is sensitive to the challenges of corporate social responsibility and has signed the United Nations Global Compact. Last year, the Group reported revenues of €3.1 billion and had a workforce of 13,130 employees.

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