Everything you need to know about France's FDI frigate
The first FDI frigate, Amiral Ronarc'h, pictured in the dry dock at Naval Group's Lorient shipyard in September. (Photo: author)
France's first Frégate de Défense et d'Intervention (FDI) ship, Amiral Ronarc'h, is the first of eight being built at Naval Group's Lorient shipyard for the French and Greek navies.
The new FDI frigates feature several design elements that set them apart from the preceding FREMM design, including a distinctive inverted bow for better seakeeping and a dedicated asymmetric warfare bridge designed to keep the ship safe from immediate threats such as small boats and USVs.
Naval Group plans to launch one FDI frigate every six months under a rapid build schedule that leverages a modular approach where the blocks that make up the frigates are 80% complete before they enter the dry dock.
Touring the site in September, Shephard witnessed the technological innovations used by Naval Group to
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