Naval Group floats Normandie frigate
Naval Group has floated the French Navy’s future FREMM multi-mission frigate, Normandie, at its Lorient site, the company announced on 1 February.
The launch of the frigate comes 12 months after the start of hull assembly in the building dock.
Normandie is the sixth in the series ordered by OCCAR on behalf of the French Navy.
The vessel will leave dry dock in autumn 2018 to undergo its first sea trials prior to delivery to the navy, expected in summer 2019. The two final frigates, Alsace and Lorraine, will be delivered to the French Navy before the end of 2022.
The 142m ship is equipped with Herakles multifunction radar, the Aster and Exocet MM 40 missiles or the MU 90 torpedoes. Displacing around 6,000 tonnes, the vessel has a maximum speed of 27 knots and will be capable of carrying a helicopter detachment. The ship can accommodate a total of 145 persons.
Related Equipment in Defence Insight
More from Naval Warfare
-
![Future of the US Navy’s Arleigh Burke programme remains unclear]()
Future of the US Navy’s Arleigh Burke programme remains unclear
The US Navy does not have a precise date for the award of the procurement contract for the third Arleigh Burke-class destroyer despite having the funds to advance with the programme in FY2025.
-
![US Navy may look to foreign suppliers to accelerate shipbuilding programmes]()
US Navy may look to foreign suppliers to accelerate shipbuilding programmes
The US Navy (USN) is currently reassessing its acquisition efforts and seeking ways to reduce the multiple delays across the shipbuilding initiatives.
-
![Australia commissions HMAS Arafura three-and-a-half years behind schedule]()
Australia commissions HMAS Arafura three-and-a-half years behind schedule
The Royal Australian Navy has finally commissioned the first Arafura-class offshore patrol vessel – more than three years behind schedule – highlighting the programme’s delays, design compromises and ongoing industrial restructuring.
