October 25, 2019 | International, Naval
October 24, 2019 - The steel-cutting ceremony of the first defence and intervention frigate (FDI) took place on the Naval Group site of Lorient. The ceremony was led in the presence of the Minister for Armed Forces, Florence Parly, the Head of the French Armament Directorate (DGA) Délégué général pour l'Armement, Joël Barre, the Chief of Staff of the French Navy Christophe Prazuck, the Chief of the Hellenic Navy Nikolaos Tsounis, many French officials and foreign delegations as well as Naval Group CEO, Hervé Guillou. The First of class will be delivered in 2023 and is part of a series of five vessels.
Sylvain Perrier, Naval Group Director of the FDI program declared during this event:
“Today, after the successful completion of the initial studies and development phases, we are proud, to reach this first industrial milestone. This ceremony is the first for this major program for which, the DGA will be in charge of prime contract management to the benefit of the French Navy. Thanks to this program, Naval Group will also keep on developing its international exposure. This program will increase to fifteen the number of first-rank frigates of the French Navy, as planned in the French military spending plan (LPM). We were able to uphold our commitment thanks to the collaborative work model we adopted with our client and to the mobilisation of state and industrial actors.”
The FDI is a high sea vessel with a 4,500 tons class displacement. Multipurpose and resilient, she is capable of operating, alone or within a naval force, through all of types of warfare: antisurface, anti air, anti-submarine and allows for special forces projection.
Strongly armed (Exocet MM40 B3C anti-surface missiles, Aster 15/30 anti-air missiles, MU90 antisubmarine torpedoes, artillery), the FDI is able to embark simultaneously a helicopter and an unmanned aerial vehicle(UAV) . She can also receive a Special Forces detachment with their two commando boats.
The FDI will be the first French frigate natively protected against cyber threats, with a Data Centre accommodating a great part of the ship applications. The FDI introduces the concept of a dedicated system for asymmetric threats warfare, distinct from the operation room. Located behind the bridge, it will lead asymmetrical warfare against air and surface threats such as mini-UAVs or tricked boats. The FDIwhich gathers the best of French technology in a compact platform. She is a powerful and innovative frigate, designed for facing evolving threats.
The design and production of the FDI build onthe experience of the FREMM program: Naval Group benefits from the operational feedback given by the French Navy.
Key figures:
– Displacement: 4,500 tons class
– Length: 122 meters
– Beam: 18 meters
– Max. speed: 27 knots
– Autonomy: 45 days
– Accomodation: 125 + 28 passengers
Five defence and intervention frigates (FDI) have been ordered in April 2017 by the Direction Générale de l'Armement (DGA) to the benefit of the French Navy.
The build of the first of class represents around one million hours of work for the teams of the Naval Group' site of Lorient. Furthermore, it contributes to the economic development of its suppliers and subcontractors, to local employment around Lorient but also to the other Naval Group sites that brought their specific know-how to the program. The conception and development studies also represent around one million hours of work for the entire series.
Industrial key figures:
– A 100% digital conception – zero paper plans
– 1 million hours of production work for each unit of the series on the Naval Group' site of
Lorient
– 1 million hours of conception and development for the program
– 400 subcontractors
– 20 km of tubes and 300 km of cables for each FDI
The future frigate targets the intermediary tonnage ships segment for which there is an international demand. Thanks to its modularity, the ship can be configured to fulfil diverse missions depending on the expressed needs. Thus, with on the one hand the Gowind 2,500- tonnes corvette, on the other hand the 6,000-tonnes FREMM and now the FDI, Naval Group proposes a complete offer for strongly armed military ships.
A Letter of Intention was signed on the 10th of October 2019 by the Greek Minister of Defence, Nicolaos Panagiotopoulos and the French Minister for Armed Forces, Florence Parly. This announcement is in line with the strategic cooperation between the two countries and will allow a close dialogue in order to bring the best answer to the needs of the Hellenic Navy
Emmanuel GAUDEZ
Tel. : +33 (0)1 40 59 55 69
Mob. : +33 (0)6 61 97 36 63
emmanuel.gaudez@naval-group.com
Bérengère GOURAUD
Tel. : +33 (0)1 40 59 56 44
Mob. : +33 (0)7 76 86 53 79
berengere.gouraud@naval-group.com
Klara NADARADJANE
Tel. : +33 (0)1 40 59 51 16
Mob. : +33 (0)6 45 03 11 92
priya-klara.nadaradjane@naval-group.com
View source version on Naval Group: https://www.naval-group.com/en/news/naval-group-launches-the-construction-of-the-first-digital-frigate-for-the-french-navy/
February 27, 2024 | International, Aerospace
This project aims to deliver advanced protection, fighting capabilities and sensors suite to the Redback Infantry Fighting Vehicles (IFV) for the Australian Army.
January 27, 2021 | International, Land, C4ISR
Rochester, N.Y. January 26, 2021 — The Australian Defence Force has awarded L3Harris Technologies (NYSE: LHX) contracts totaling $233 million (USD) to deliver secure communications and advanced night vision goggle technology to support the country's key modernization initiatives. L3Harris was awarded a three-year, $115 million follow-on FFP contract under the Direct Commercial Sale (DCS) arrangements for the Australian Defence Force's Delphic - Cryptographic Modernization program. L3Harris will deliver tactical radios, waveforms and ancillaries that support emerging cryptographic modernization standards. The company also was awarded a $118 million contract to provide advanced night vision goggle technology to enhance Army soldiers' ability to locate and engage threats – improving their situational awareness, mobility and safety. The award follows L3Harris' successful delivery of night vision technology for Tranche 1 of the Land 53 program in 2020. L3Harris will deliver its Fused Night Vision System (FNVS), which incorporates the latest in night vision capabilities – fusing image intensification technology with thermal imagery to provide soldiers with enhanced situational awareness, targeting and identification capability in all battlefield conditions and light levels. When combined with the L3Harris battery pack, the FNVS delivers critical battlefield information directly to the soldier's eye. Both contracts include full in-country support and repair capabilities in Australia. “These key modernization programs extend L3Harris' long-term partnership with the Australian Defence Force, supporting mission needs for advanced secure communications and night vision capabilities, and will also leverage our expanded technical support capability in Australia,” said Dana Mehnert, President, Communication Systems, L3Harris. About L3Harris Technologies L3Harris Technologies is an agile global aerospace and defense technology innovator, delivering end-to-end solutions that meet customers' mission-critical needs. The company provides advanced defense and commercial technologies across air, land, sea, space and cyber domains. L3Harris has approximately $18 billion in annual revenue and 48,000 employees, with customers in more than 100 countries. www.L3Harris.com Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements that reflect management's current expectations, assumptions and estimates of future performance and economic conditions. Such statements are made in reliance upon the safe harbor provisions of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The company cautions investors that any forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results and future trends to differ materially from those matters expressed in or implied by such forward-looking statements. Statements about the value or expected value of orders, contracts or programs, about system or technology capabilities are forward-looking and involve risks and uncertainties. L3Harris disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise. View source version on L3Harris Technologies: https://www.l3harris.com/newsroom/press-release/2021/01/l3harris-technologies-awarded-233-million-contracts-support-key
August 17, 2020 | International, Land
By: Sebastian Sprenger COLOGNE, Germany — Lockheed Martin and MBDA Deutschland have submitted another bid for Germany's next-generation air defense system, following negotiations throughout the summer that some observers said nearly tanked the project. The “updated proposal,” as the companies called it in a joint statement Friday, presumably will find smooth sailing in the Defence Ministry's upcoming analysis. That is because government officials and company executives already went through extensive discussions in the past few months to iron out sticking points left unresolved in previous bids and re-bids. “In the last months we made progress in further detailing the Integrated Master Schedule, relevant specifications as well as performance simulations to de-risk the future contract,” Thomas Gottschild, managing director at MBDA Deutschland, said in the statement. But there are no guarantees, especially when it comes to the famously circuitous Taktisches Luftverteidigungssystem, or TLVS. The program grew out of the now-defunct Medium Extended Air Defense System, which the Pentagon helped fund. Germany wants the weapon to replace its fleet of Patriot batteries. The German Defence Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The government in Berlin is under the gun to deliver military programs on time and on budget, especially now that the ministry wants to keep up defense spending despite the economic blow of the coronavirus pandemic. As a result, officials want to place greater financial liability on the contractors in case things go awry. That approach is infused throughout the TLVS contractual categories of “risk” and “terms and conditions,” industry officials previously said, though details are under strict wraps. Executives previously argued the proposed risk distribution is unsuitable for a development-heavy program like TLVS, making Lockheed especially wary of pursuing the deal after all. At the same time, the American defense giant finally needs to sell the program to a government customer if it wants the advertised revolution in missile defense equipment to actually happen. The envisioned weapon will feature a 360-degree sensing and shooting capability, which means operators no longer need to anticipate from which direction aerial threats will likely approach, as was the case with the sectored Patriot system. “TLVS will transform Germany's defense capabilities and set an important precedent in how neighboring nations address persistent global threats for years to come,” Lockheed and MBDA claimed in their joint statement. The German parliament, currently in recess, will have to approve the government's acquisition plan for TLVS — that is, if the industry consortium's newest submission makes the ministry's cut. https://www.defensenews.com/industry/2020/08/14/after-months-of-haggling-lockheed-moves-on-german-air-defense-bid/