The French Navy has received the fourth frégate européenne multi-mission (FREMM) frigate from arms industry company DCNS, which has been named Auvergne.
The frigate is the fourth in a series ordered by the intergovernmental Organisation for Joint Armament Cooperation (OCCAR) on behalf of French armament procurement agency DGA.
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DCNS has managed the design and construction process of the FREMM multi-mission frigate Auvergne in close cooperation with teams of representatives from the French Navy, DGA and OCCAR.
DCNS FREMM programme director Nicolas Gaspard said: “The delivery of the FREMM Auvergne represents an opportunity to applaud the industrial and technological prowess of DCNS and its subcontractors.
"The frigate Auvergne illustrates our capacity to produce, and deliver on time, a series of front-line combat vessels to satisfy the needs of our client navies.”
Once the FREMM programme is completed, it will represent the construction of ten vessels at DCNS' Lorient site, which includes eight units reserved for the French Navy.
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By GlobalDataSix FREMM are expected to be delivered to the French Navy before the end of 2019, in accordance with the 2014-2019 military programming law.
DCNS is currently completing the FREMM Bretagne, which was floated on 16 September 2016, as well as conducting the assembly of FREMM Normandie. Bretagne and Normandie will be delivered in 2018 and 2019 respectively.
Work has also recently commenced on the Alsace, which constitutes the ninth FREMM in the series.
Alsace will be one of the two FREMMs with bolstered anti-aircraft capacities, whose delivery is scheduled before 2022.
FREMM frigates are heavily armed units, and equipped with the most effective weapon systems and equipment such as the Herakles multifunctional radar, the naval cruise missile, the Aster and Exocet MM 40 missiles and MU 90 torpedoes.
FREMM frigates’ technical characteristics include an overall length of 142m and width of 20m, a top speed of 27 knots and a displacement capacity of 6,000t.
They can carry a crew of 108 persons, with an accommodation capacity of 145 persons, and possess a cruising range of 6,000 nautical miles at 15 knots.
Image: Fourth FREMM multi-mission frigate Auvergne. Photo: copyright: DCNS.
