Naval Group launches the construction of the first digital frigate for the French Navy

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.”

A digital multi-mission 4,500 tons-class frigate

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

A large-scale industrial collaboration that particularly mobilises the Naval Group site of Lorient

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

Many export opportunities

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

Contact presse :

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/