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2019-12-05

French Navy Goes the Digital Way

The steel-cutting ceremony of the first Defence and Intervention Frigate (FDI) recently took place on the Naval Group site of Lorient, France.

The FDI will be the first French frigate natively protected against cyber threats, with a Data Centre accommodating a great part of the ship applications. It introduces the concept of a dedicated system for asymmetric threats warfare, distinct from the operation room.

Located behind the bridge, it will lead asymmetrical warfare against air and surface threats such as mini-UAVs or tricked boats. The frigate gathers the best of French technology in a compact platform and has been designed for facing evolving threats. The design and production of the FDI build on the experience of the FREMM programme. Naval Group benefits from the operational feedback given by the French Navy.

The ceremony was led in the presence of the Minister for Armed Forces, Florence Parly, the Head of the French Armament Directorate (DGA) Délégué général pour l’Armement, Joël Barre, the Chief of Staff of the French Navy Christophe Prazuck, the Chief of the Hellenic Navy Nikolaos Tsounis, many French officials and foreign delegations as well as Naval Group CEO, Hervé Guillou. The First of class will be delivered in 2023 and is part of a series of five vessels.

Sylvain Perrier, Naval Group Director of the FDI programme said: “Today, after the successful completion of the initial studies and development phases, we are proud, to reach this first industrial milestone. This ceremony is the first for this major programme for which, the DGA will be in charge of prime contract management to the benefit of the French Navy.

Thanks to this programme, Naval Group will also keep on developing its international exposure. This programme will increase to 15, the number of first-rank frigates of the French Navy, as planned in the French military spending plan (LPM). We were able to uphold our commitment thanks to the collaborative work model we adopted with our client and to the mobilisation of state and industrial actors.”

The FDI is a high sea vessel with a 4,500 tonnes class displacement. Multipurpose and resilient, she is capable of operating, alone or within a naval force, through all of types of warfare: anti-surface, anti-air, anti-submarine and allows for Special Forces projection.

Armed with Exocet MM40 B3C anti-surface missiles, Aster 15/30 anti-air missiles, MU90 antisubmarine torpedoes, and artillery, the FDI is able to embark simultaneously a helicopter and an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). She can also receive a Special Forces detachment with their two commando boats.

Exocet MM40 Block 3

The Exocet MM40 Block 3 weapon system is the latest generation ship-borne version of the Exocet family and is in operational service with several navies. It provides enhanced operational performance and technology upgrades, while minimising the impact on procurement and logistic support costs. The Mission Planning software module automatically computes engagement plans to support firing decisions. The flexibility of the Exocet MM40 Block 3 weapon is further enhanced by the accuracy of the new navigation package, allowing optimised 3D approach trajectories and terminal attacks from different azimuths, at very low sea skimming altitude with simultaneous time on target.

Aster 15/30 anti-air missiles

Aster missiles are the cornerstones of Europe’s naval and land-based air defence programmes. The Aster missile family comprises Aster 15 for short to medium range and Aster 30 for short to long range.

MU90 antisubmarine torpedoes

The weapon has been designed to counter any type of nuclear or conventional submarine, acoustically coated, deep and fast evasive, deploying active or passive anti-torpedo effectors. Any type of platform such as surface vessels, fixed or rotary wing aircraft or missiles can deploy the torpedo. Pre-arrangements to cope with Submarine-Launched Anti-Air Missiles (SLAAM) have been already incorporated in the system. The MU90/IMPACT torpedo is 323.7mm ‘NATO Standard’ calibre, weight 304kg and is 2850mm long.

Industrial Collaboration

Five FDI have been ordered in April 2017 by the DGA to the benefit of the French Navy. The build of the first of class represents around one million hours of work for the teams of the Naval Group’ site of Lorient. Furthermore, it contributes to the economic development of its suppliers and subcontractors, to local employment around Lorient but also to the other Naval Group sites that brought their specific know-how to the programme.

The future frigate targets the intermediary tonnage ships segment for which there is an international demand. Thanks to its modularity, the ship can be configured to fulfil diverse missions depending on the expressed needs. In fact, the Greek Minister of Defence, Nicolaos Panagiotopoulos, and the French Minister for Armed Forces, Florence Parly, signed a Letter of Intent on October 10. This announcement is in line with the strategic cooperation between the two countries and will allow a close dialogue in order to bring the best answer to the needs of the Hellenic Navy.

Reference Text/Photo:

www.naval-group.com

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