Bretagne completes first sea trials
The French Navy’s FREMM multi-mission frigate Bretagne has successfully completed first sea trials in Lorient, North-Western France, the International Organization for Cooperation on Arms (OCCAR) has announced.
During the trials, performance of the frigate’s propulsion and navigation systems was tested. Further tests and trials of various systems, including the combat management system, are scheduled to take place over the coming weeks.
Bretagne will be France’s fifth anti-submarine warfare frigate, and is due to be delivered to the French Navy in mid-2018. Four FREMM frigates have been delivered to the French Navy, and three other ships are at different stages of assembly and construction at Naval Group Lorient shipyard.
The FREMM frigates are equipped with advanced systems, including the Héraclès multifunction radar, naval cruise missiles, Aster and Exocet MM40 missiles and MU 90 torpedoes.
Related Equipment in Defence Insight
More from Naval Warfare
-
From Poland to the Pacific: Can Miecznik become a blueprint for other navies?
Babcock is taking its Polish industrial partnership approach to Denmark and New Zealand as navies seek sovereign shipbuilding skills alongside ships.
-
Unsettled waters in the North: can navies still trust their Arctic acoustic maps?
The changing Arctic environment is creating new challenges for submarine detection, driving demand for distributed sensors, uncrewed underwater vehicles and real-time acoustic modelling.
-
Aevex, Lockheed Martin and Thales deals highlight consolidation in naval technology
A wave of acquisitions is bringing specialist autonomy and underwater technology under the umbrella of larger defence contractors. As a result, navies may gain faster access to capability, but not necessarily a broader choice of suppliers.
-
Italy’s DDX destroyer deal opens a decade of naval spending
A €3.7 billion destroyer contract for Fincantieri and Leonardo is only the start, with submarines, corvettes and a new carrier pointing to more opportunities.
-
Production-ready beats prototype-ready in the US Navy’s MUSV marketplace
HII, Saronic and Galliano Marine Services have won US Navy production contracts to supply medium uncrewed surface vessels. The marketplace approach behind them sets the bar for suppliers eyeing allied navy competitions.
-
Anduril’s $6.6bn wager on fixing America’s submarine bottleneck
Anduril’s Arsenal-2 is a gamble on a brand-new yard and perfect timing, but with Virginia-class output stuck at 1.1 to 1.2 boats a year, it is a bet worth making.