France receives first modernised La Fayette frigate
Aconit will be the third and final frigate to be upgraded in the La Fayette class. (Photo: Jean-Marc Tanguy)
The service life of three upgraded La Fayette frigates will overlap slightly with new-generation FDI vessels.
The French Navy on 14 October announced it has received its first modernised La Fayette-class frigate after the Courbet completed an upgrade.
Courbet is equipped with a Kingclip hull-mounted sonar supplied by Thales, and the Crotale CN2 point defence missile launcher (also from Thales) was dismantled and replaced with two MBDA Sadral six-round launchers capable of firing Mistral 3 missiles.
Shephard Defence Insight notes that Sadral is integrated with the SENIT FLF combat management system. The launchers on Courbet are not new, having been recovered from decommissioned F70 anti-submarine frigates.
The operations centre has been completely overhauled and Courbet now
Already have an account? Log in
Want to keep reading this article?
Read this Article
Get access to this article with a Free Basic Account
- Original curated content, daily across air, land and naval domains
- 2 free stories per week
- Daily news round-up email service
- Access to all Decisive Edge email newsletters
Unlimited Access
Access to all our premium news as a Premium News 365 Member. Corporate subscriptions available.
- Original curated content, daily across air, land and naval domains
- 14-day free trial (cancel at any time)
- Unlimited access to all published premium news
More from Naval Warfare
-
![Keel laid for Royal Navy’s next-generation nuclear submarine]()
Keel laid for Royal Navy’s next-generation nuclear submarine
HMS Dreadnought will be the first of the four Dreadnought class nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs) scheduled to enter service in the early 2030s. Following its keel-laying ceremony last week, Shephard takes a deeper dive into the class which will eventually replace the Royal Navy's long-standing Vanguard class of boats.
-
![TKMS sheds light on India and Singapore submarine projects]()
TKMS sheds light on India and Singapore submarine projects
The company is growing its submarine building capacity in anticipation of news on the P75I project.
-
![Thales to supply sonar systems for the Netherlands’ Orka submarines]()
Thales to supply sonar systems for the Netherlands’ Orka submarines
The company will deliver a comprehensive sensor suite when the Orka class comes into service in the early 2030s.
-
![Rafael and Elbit supply electronic warfare solution for frigate protection to NATO nations]()
Rafael and Elbit supply electronic warfare solution for frigate protection to NATO nations
The EW systems will be deployed on five frigates from unspecified NATO-member nations, to improve their survivability in combat.
-
![Edge and CMN Naval create multi-billion dollar joint venture to build high value niche naval vessels]()
Edge and CMN Naval create multi-billion dollar joint venture to build high value niche naval vessels
The new company will take possession of the existing non-NATO order pipeline, said to be worth billions of dollars.
