French Navy receives fourth FREMM frigate
DCNS has delivered the multi-mission frigate Auvergne to the French Navy, the company announced on 11 April.
This is the fourth FREMM frigate of the series ordered by Organisation for Joint Armament Cooperation (OCCAR) on behalf of the French armament procurement agency (DGA).
The design and construction process of Auvergne was managed by DCNS in close association with the French Navy, DGA and OCCAR.
The FREMM programme will see the construction of 18 vessels; eight for the French Navy and ten for the Italian Navy.
DCNS is currently working to complete the FREMM Bretagne, which was floated on 16 September 2016 and assembly of FREMM Normandie is ongoing. Work has already commenced on the ninth FREMM in the series - Alsace - which will be one of two FREMMs with strengthened anti-aircraft capacities to be delivered before 2022.
Nicolas Gaspard, director of the FREMM programme at DCNS, said: ‘The delivery of the FREMM Auvergne represents an opportunity to applaud the industrial and technological prowess of DCNS and its subcontractors. The frigate Auvergne illustrates our capacity to produce and deliver on time a series of front-line combat vessels to satisfy the needs of our client navies.’
More from Naval Warfare
-
UK’s Type 31 frigate balances cost pressure with long-term export ambition
The UK shipbuilder’s full-year results to the end of March revealed the impact of the £140 million charge linked to design changes and rework on the Royal Navy’s Type 31 frigate programme.
-
US Navy expands non-standard acquisitions to rapidly field emerging technologies
The US Navy is increasing the use of OTA obligations to accelerate the procurement of seabed-subsea, littoral, expeditionary and uncrewed solutions.
-
Can Portugal solve NATO’s uncrewed systems development challenge?
NATO has spent more than a decade building one of the world’s most sophisticated maritime uncrewed experimentation ecosystems, but still lacks a way to translate this testing into alliance-wide operational capability. Portugal now believes it has the answer.
-
Eurosatory 2026: Schiebel’s frigate-first strategy indicates a shift in UAV competition
Schiebel is pursuing opportunities in the UK and France while leveraging its integration with Naval Group’s FDI frigate programme to create new naval business across Europe.