On 11 April in Toulon, DCNS delivered the FREMM multi-mission frigate D654 Auvergne to the French Navy, as stipulated in the contract. This frigate is the fourth of the series ordered by OCCAR (L’Organisation Conjointe de Coopération en Matière d’Armement) on behalf of the DGA (French armament procurement agency).
Under the project management of DCNS, the heavily-armed FREMM frigates are 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 the MU 90 torpedoes
Delivery of the FREMM multi-mission frigate D654 Auvergne is the result of a design and construction process managed by DCNS in close cooperation with the French Navy, DGA and OCCAR teams.
This technological and industrial success employed many DCNS sites and its partners and subcontractors to ensure compliance with the industrial milestones, in particular the launching in September 2015 and the first sea outing in September 2016.
«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», indicates Nicolas Gaspard, director of the FREMM programme at DCNS.
On completion, the FREMM programme will represent the construction of ten vessels on the DCNS Lorient site, of which eight for the French Navy. Six FREMM would have been delivered to the French Navy before end of 2019, in accordance with the 2014-2019 military programming law. DCNS is currently completing the FREMM D655 Bretagne, which was floated on 16 September 2016, and is pursuing the assembly of the FREMM D656 Normandie. Furthermore, work has already started on the ninth FREMM in the series, the D657 Alsace, which will be one of the two FREMMs with strengthened anti-aircraft capacities, whose deliveries are scheduled before 2022.
The launching ceremony of the «Federico Martinengo» (F596) frigate, the seventh of a series of 10 FREMM vessels – Multi Mission European Frigates – took place today at the Riva Trigoso shipyard (Genoa). The 10 FREMM vessels have been commissioned to Fincantieri by the Italian Navy within the framework of an Italo-French cooperation program under the coordination of OCCAR (Organisation Conjointe de Cooperation sur l’Armement, the international organization for cooperation on arms).
The seventh Multipurpose Frigate «Federico Martinengo» launched
Godmother of the ceremony was Mrs. Mina De Caro, widow of Giuseppe Porcelli, Commander of the «Scirocco» frigate, who lost his life in 1997 during operational activities held within NATO naval forces in the Mediterranean.
The ceremony was attended, among others by Gen. Claudio Graziano, Chief of Defence, Adm. Valter Girardelli, Chief of Staff of the Italian Navy, Giovanni Toti, Governor of the Liguria Region, and Giuseppe Bono, CEO of Fincantieri.
After the launching, fitting activities will continue in the Integrated naval shipyard of Muggiano (La Spezia), with delivery scheduled in early 2018. The «Federico Martinengo» (F596) vessel, like the other units, will feature a high degree of flexibility, capable of operating in all tactical situations. 144 meters/472.4 feet long with a beam of 19.7 meters/64.6 feet, the ship will have a displacement at full load of approximately 6,700 tonnes. The «Federico Martinengo» (F596) will have a maximum speed of over 27 knots/31 mph/50 km/h and will provide accommodation for a 200-person crew.
The FREMM program, representing the European and Italian defence state of the art, stems from the renewal need of the Italian Navy line «Lupo» (already removed) and «Maestrale» (close to the attainment of operational limit) class frigates, both built by Fincantieri in the 1970s.
The vessels «Carlo Bergamini» (F590) and «Virginio Fasan» (F591) have been delivered in 2013, the «Carlo Margottini» (F592) in 2014, the «Carabiniere» (F593) in 2015 and the «Alpino» (F594) in 2016. The Italian program has been fully implemented with the option exercised in April 2015, regarding the construction of the ninth and tenth vessel, whose delivery is scheduled after 2020.
Orizzonte Sistemi Navali (51% Fincantieri, 49% Finmeccanica) acts as prime contractor for Italy in the initiative, while Armaris (DCNS + Thales) is prime contractor for France.
This cooperation has applied the positive experience gained in the previous Italo-French program «Orizzonte» that has led to the construction for the Italian Navy of the two frigates «Andrea Doria» and «Caio Duilio».
On November 22, at the Salto di Quirra joint armed forces test range, the Italian Navy has successfully conducted from Italian FREMM frigate Carlo Bergamini (F590) the first live firing of an Aster 30 missile with a telemetry head, as part of the qualification programme for the surface-to-air extended self defence system (SAAM ESD, Surface to Air Anti Missile System Extended Self Defence).
Aster 30 missile
With the SAAM ESD system, the firing ship is able to both protect itself (self-defence) and other consort ships.
The firing was completed in full accordance with the established plan. All the launch phases were accomplished according to expectations. The successful firing confirms the excellent team work established and developed in perfect synergy between the Italian Navy and the industry.
This test is one of the most relevant technical/experimental trials that the Italian Navy has carried out within the Salto di Quirra test range, and a very important activity that will support the high-tech national industry, also in the export markets. This event represents also the re-entry into service, after 4 years, of the Sardinian test range, fully compliant with the most updated environmental safety requirements.
The missile system, produced by MBDA, is composed of an AGIS Command and Control System, an active Multi-Function Radar for searching, tracking, detection and missile guidance, together with 2 Sylver A-50 vertical launch firing modules.
The SAAM ESD qualification plan is expected to be completed with a follow-on live firing planned for April 2017, when the anti-air warfare complex will be managed seamlessly integrated with the FREMM’s CMS (Combat Management System).
On September 30, the frigate «Alpino» (F594) was delivered at the Muggiano (La Spezia) shipyard. It is the fifth vessel of the FREMM program – Multi Mission European Frigates – commissioned to Fincantieri within the international Italian-French program, coordinated by OCCAR (the Organisation for Joint Armament Cooperation). Orizzonte Sistemi Navali (51% Fincantieri and 49% Finmeccanica) is the prime contractor for Italy in the FREMM program, which envisions the construction of 10 units, all already ordered.
Alpino (F594), the latest FREMM multipurpose frigate built by the Fincantieri group, tied up alongside at Fincantieri’s Muggiano shipyard before its official handover to the Italian navy (Fincantieri photo)
«Alpino» (F594) is the fifth FREMM unit built by Fincantieri and delivered to the Italian Navy including the combat system, the fourth with the ASW – Anti Submarine Warfare configuration, that is the ability of silent navigation speed in significant anti-submarine hunting.
472-foot/144-meter long and with a displacement at full load of approximately 6,700 tonnes, the FREMM frigates represent technological excellence: designed to reach a maximum speed of 27 knots/31 mph/50 km/h and to provide accommodation for 200 people (crew and staff), these vessels are able to always guarantee a high degree of flexibility and to operate in a wide range of scenarios and tactical situations.
The program, coordinated by OCCAR, the Organisation for Joint Armament Cooperation, faces the need for the renewal of the Italian Navy’s Lupo (disarment completed in 2003) and Maestrale (close in reaching its operational life limit) class units.
These units significantly contribute to the development of the tasks assigned to the Italian Navy, being able to operate in various sectors: anti-aircraft, anti-submarine and anti-naval warfare, fire support from the sea as well as an organic helicopter component embarked. The FREMM units are set to become the backbone of the Italian Navy over the next decades.
On 16 September 2016, DCNS floated the FREMM multi-mission frigate Bretagne in Lorient, France. The achievement of this industrial milestone marks an important step in the construction of the vessel. It once again underlines the dynamism of DCNS and its capacity to deliver six FREMM frigates to the French Navy before mid-2019, in accordance with the Military Programming Law 2014-2019.
DCNS floats a new FREMM Frigate
DCNS has now floated the FREMM Bretagne on its Lorient site, the seventh frigate in the programme and fifth in the series ordered by OCCAR (L’Organisation Conjointe de Coopération en Matière d’Armement) on behalf of the French Defence Procurement Agency (DGA) for the French Navy.
This floating, six months after the delivery of the FREMM Languedoc on 16 March 2016, demonstrates DCNS’s capacity to carry out efficient series production, ensuring that it can deliver six frigates to the French Navy before mid-2019.
The FREMM programme is advancing rapidly. Five FREMM frigates were already delivered between 2012 and 2015: three for the French Navy and two for international clients, the Royal Moroccan Navy and the Egyptian Navy.
Three FREMM frigates and one Gowind corvette are currently under construction and at different completion stages at the DCNS site of Lorient:
FREMM Auvergne, which will start sea trials at the end of September 2016.
FREMM Bretagne, floated today.
FREMM Normandie, for which assembling is about to start.
The first Gowind corvette, floated on 17 September 2016.
For DCNS, the completion of the FREMM programme will represent the construction of ten frigates, eight of them for the French Navy. In addition to the six frigates to be delivered by 2019, there will be two further frigates with strengthened anti-air capacities which will be delivered before end 2022.
On May 17, ITS Luigi Rizzo cast off at 7.20 a.m. from Fincantieri shipyard in Muggiano (La Spezia) for her first sea outing. This activity marks the beginning of the programme of sea trials which will continue until the completion of the ship’s outfitting phase. The FREMM frigate is scheduled to be delivered to the Italian Navy in early 2017.
The Italian Navy’s sixth FREMM-class frigate, ITS Luigi Rizzo, sails from Fincantieri’s Muggiano shipyard on her initial sea trials (IT Navy photo)
The ship had on board Vice-Admiral Donato Marzano, Italian Navy Logistic Commander and Chairman of the Naval Ship Acceptance Commission, personnel from Marinalles New Ships Outfitting and Testing Navy Centre, representatives from technical organisations involved in testing activities, and some of future crew members.
ITS Luigi Rizzo – the sixth new-generation frigate commissioned by the Italian Navy within the framework of the FREMM (European Multimission Frigate) Italo-French Programme, and second in General Purpose (GP) version – is characterised by high flexibility and is designed to cover a variety of operational deployments. Laid down on March 5 2013, it was launched on December 19 2015 at the Fincantieri shipyard in Riva Trigoso (Genoa).
Thanks to their command and control capabilities and logistic autonomy, FREMM frigates will be able to provide patrol service (presence and surveillance) and to conduct activities related to monitoring of migration flows and shipping control, as well as counter-terrorism and counter-piracy operations. Moreover, their prominent dual use capabilities will allow for their deployment on humanitarian assistance and disaster relief missions, including civil protection and support for cultural heritage.
FREMM-IT will replace the Maestrale and Lupo frigates in service with the Italian Navy
On 16 March 2016, DCNS delivered the FREMM frigate D653 Languedoc intended for the French Navy, on the occasion of the acceptance ceremony by OCCAR (L’Organisation Conjointe de Coopération en Matière d’Armement) on behalf of the French DGA (Direction Générale de l’Armement). This event once again demonstrates the industrial success of the largest European naval defence programme. The FREMM frigates are amongst some of the highest-performance latest-generation combat vessels on the market and have already won over three client Navies.
DCNS delivers its 5th FREMM frigate, Languedoc
FREMM D653 Languedoc is the fifth unit to be built by DCNS and the third intended for the French Navy. The frigate was officially accepted by OCCAR (Organisation for Joint Armament Cooperation), an international organisation for the through-life management of cooperative defence equipment programmes, which has the role of contracting authority for FREMMs intended for France and Italy. The ceremony was presided over by the Director of OCCAR, Timothy Rowntree, and the Armaments Engineer-General, Laurent Sellier, Director of the DGA’s «Armaments Naval Operations» management unit, and in the presence of Pierre Legros, Director of Programmes at DCNS.
The official acceptance of the FREMM Languedoc is a demonstration of the satisfaction of the operational personnel that had the opportunity to test its exceptional military qualities in multiple operations theatres. At the start of the year, the D650 Aquitaine and D652 Provence FREMMs participated in the Task Force 50 actions in the Persian-Arabian Gulf, at the sides of the Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier, designed, built and maintained by DCNS.
These front-line frigates also won over the Royal Moroccan Navy in 2014 and the Egyptian Navy in 2015.
The operational deployments and international successes of this latest-generation frigate demonstrate the capacity of DCNS to design, build and maintain competitive, high-tech vessels, which are perfectly suited to the needs of its clients.
The FREMMs are the first vessels in Europe to deploy the naval cruise missile (MdCN) for which the first firing took place on 19 May 2015 from the FREMM D650 Aquitaine.
«The delivery of the FREMM D653 Languedoc represents an opportunity to highlight the serial effects of a programme that DCNS clients can take advantage of», notes Anne Bianchi, Director of the FREMM programme at DCNS. «With this fifth unit, DCNS has again improved its industrial and economic performance. It was possible to reduce the duration of the sea acceptance trials for the D653 Languedoc frigate to five weeks, thanks to the experience acquired for the FREMMs already delivered. The DCNS teams and our partners have, in effect, attained an unprecedented level of vessel completion even before its first sea outing», she underlines.
The FREMM programme represents today the construction of ten vessels, of which eight for the French Navy. Six FREMMs will have been delivered to the French Navy before mid-2019, in accordance with the 2015-2019 military programming law. DCNS is currently completing the FREMM D654 Auvergne, which was floated on 2 September 2015, and is pursuing the assembly of the FREMM D655 Bretagne. Work has started on the eighth FREMM in the series, the D656 Normandie. Last but not least, DCNS is finalising the design of two FREMMs with strengthened anti-aircraft capacities, the delivery of which is slated for 2022.
Heavily armed, the FREMMs deploy the most effective weapon systems and equipment, such as the Herakles multifunction radar, the naval cruise missile (MdCN), the Aster and Exocet MM 40 missiles or the MU 90 torpedoes
Overview of the FREMM series
D650 Aquitaine, first in the series, delivered in 2012
Mohammed VI (701), delivered to the Royal Moroccan Navy in 2014
D652 Provence delivered in June 2015
Tahya Misr (FFG-1001), delivered to the Egyptian Navy in June 2015
D653 Languedoc delivered on 16 March 2016
D654 Auvergne, D655 Bretagne and D656 Normandie to be delivered in 2017, 2018 and 2019
Two FREMMs with strengthened anti-aircraft capacities to be delivered in 2021 and 2022
Languedoc, the French navy’s third FREMM-class frigate, sails out of Lorient for its initial sea trials, which will test its propulsion and navigations systems. Six of these ships will be delivered by 2019 (DCNS photo)
The launching ceremony of the frigate Luigi Rizzo (F595), the sixth of a series of 10 FREMM vessels – Multi Mission European Frigates – took place on December 19 at the Riva Trigoso shipyard (Genoa). The 10 FREMM vessels have been commissioned to Fincantieri by the Italian Navy within the framework of an Italo-French cooperation program under the coordination of OCCAR (Organisation Conjointe de Cooperation sur l’Armement, the international organization for cooperation on arms).
Planning assumptions for the Italian Navy are 10 FREMM-IT (4 ASW variants and 6 GP variants) at a cost of €5.8 billion
Godmother of the ceremony was Mrs. Maria Guglielmina Rizzo, daughter of Luigi Rizzo, two Gold Medals of Military Valor. The ceremony was attended among others by, Giovanni Toti, Governor of Liguria, Admiral Giuseppe De Giorgi, Chief of Staff of the Italian Navy and the CEO of Fincantieri Giuseppe Bono.
After the launching, fitting activities will continue in the Integrated naval shipyard of Muggiano (La Spezia), with delivery scheduled in early 2017. The Luigi Rizzo (F595) vessel will feature a high degree of flexibility, capable of operating in all tactical situations. 472.4 feet/144 metres long with a beam of 64.6 feet/19.7 metres, the ship will have a displacement at full load of approximately 6,700 tonnes. The Luigi Rizzo (F595) will have a maximum speed of over 27 knots/31 mph/50 km/h and will provide accommodation for a 200-person crew.
The ships of the FREMM program represent the state of the art of the European and Italian defence and will replace the Lupo and Maestrale class frigates built by Fincantieri in the 1970s.
The vessels Carlo Bergamini (F590) and Virginio Fasan (F591) have been delivered in 2013, the Carlo Margottini (F592) in 2014, the Carabiniere in 2015 (F593), while the delivery of the Alpino (F594) is scheduled in 2016. With the option exercised last April for the construction of the ninth and tenth vessel, whose delivery is scheduled after 2020, the Italian program has been fully implemented.
Orizzonte Sistemi Navali (51% Fincantieri, 49% Finmeccanica) acts as prime contractor for Italy in the initiative, while Armaris (DCNS + Thales) is prime contractor for France.
This cooperation has applied the positive experience gained in the previous Italo-French program Orizzonte that has led to the construction for the Italian Navy of the two frigates Andrea Doria and Caio Duilio.
The ASW version was fitted with both towed and hull mounted sonars
7 October, the FREMM Languedoc, the third frigate of the series for the French Navy, made its first sea outing. This industrial milestone marks the start of the vessel’s sea trials, which will take place off the coast of Brittany. With three FREMM multi-mission frigates currently under construction on the Lorient site, DCNS will have delivered six FREMMs to the French Navy before mid-2019, in accordance with the Military Programming Law 2015-2019, as well as two FREMMs for the export market.
Languedoc, the French navy’s third FREMM-class frigate, sails out of Lorient for its initial sea trials, which will test its propulsion and navigations systems. Six of these ships will be delivered by 2019 (DCNS photo)
DCNS has now completed the first sea outing of the FREMM Languedoc on the Lorient site, the third of the series of vessels ordered by OCCAR (l’Organisation Conjointe de Coopération en matière d’Armement – Organization for Joint Armament) on behalf of the DGA (French Defence Procurement Agency) and the French Navy. During this first sea outing, the main objective was to test the performance of the vessel’s propulsion and navigation system.
The FREMM Languedoc will benefit from a significant reduction in the duration of its sea trials compared to the previous FREMMs: six weeks instead of the previous eight. This optimised trial duration illustrates the transition to «series mode» for the multi-mission frigates.
DCNS teams and those of its partners were thus able to capitalise on the experience acquired with the FREMMs already delivered to proceed with the integration of the combat system’s sensors and weapons before the FREMM Languedoc’s first sea outing. This streamlining of the scheduling allows an optimisation of the duration and number of sea outings for the frigate and therefore, in the end, a reduction in the total time required for vessel trials.
«The acceleration of the trial scheduling for the FREMM Languedoc is a demonstration of DCNS capacity to ensure efficient serial production», explains Anne Bianchi, Director of the FREMM Programme at DCNS.
In the medium term, the FREMM programme will involve for DCNS the construction of ten frigates, eight of them for the French Navy
DCNS has floated the French Navy’s FREMM multi-mission frigate Auvergne in Lorient. The achievement took place on 2 September and marks an important step in the construction of the most modern front-line ship of the 21st century. The FREMM D654 Auvergne is the sixth frigate in the programme and fourth of the series ordered by OCCAR (l’Organisation Conjointe de Coopération en matière d’Armement – Organization for Joint Armament) on behalf of the DGA (the French defence procurement agency) for the French Navy.
Auvergne, seen here as it floats out of the building hall in Lorient, is the sixth FREMM frigate built by DCNS, which is building another three for the French navy
With three FREMMs currently under construction in DCNS’ Lorient site, DCNS is accelerating the production speed in order to deliver six FREMMs to the French Navy before mid-2019. Two additional frigates equipped with strengthened anti-aircraft capacities will be delivered before 2022. Two further units have also been sold to international clients: The Royal Moroccan Navy and the Egyptian Navy.
«The floating of the FREMM Auvergne, after the delivery of the FREMM Tahya Misr to the Egyptian Navy and the delivery of the FREMM Provence in June, demonstrate DCNS’s ability to successfully achieve a serial production», explains Anne Bianchi, FREMM Programme Director at DCNS. «DCNS is doing everything in its power to satisfy its clients, the OCCAR, the DGA and the French Navy by delivering these last six frigates before mid-2019».
DCNS commenced construction of the FREMM Auvergne in August 2012. This new-generation frigate will be operated by an optimized crew of 108 (half that required for the frigates of the previous generation). Delivery of the FREMM Aquitaine, the first multi-mission frigate to be built for the French Navy, was taken by OCCAR on 23 November 2012 on behalf of the DGA.
OCCAR: the Organisation for Joint Armaments Operations, is an international organisation whose core-business is the through-life management of cooperative defence equipment programmes entrusted to it by the Member States. It ensures, amongst other things, the project management for the multi-mission frigates intended for France and Italy
Four surface ships currently being produced at DCNS Lorient
The floating of the FREMM Auvergne is being celebrated while the FREMM programme is progressing at an accelerated speed on the DCNS site in Lorient. Three FREMM frigates are currently under construction for the French Navy. The Lorient teams are also mobilized for the construction of the first GOWIND corvette for the Egyptian Navy.
FREMM technical characteristics
Under the project management of DCNS, the heavily armed FREMM frigates are equipped with the most effective weapon systems and hardware, such as the Héraclès multifunctional radar, the Naval Cruise Missile, the Aster and Exocet MM 40 missiles and the MU 90 torpedoes.
DCNS commenced construction of the FREMM Auvergne in August 2012
