PARIS \u2014 France placed an order with shipbuilder Naval Group for the country\u2019s fifth Defense and Intervention Frigate, known by its French acronym FDI and recognizable for its inverted bow, the final vessel currently planned in the class for the French Navy.<\/p>\n
The fifth vessel ordered at the end of March will be delivered in 2032, the French Armed Forces Ministry said in a statement late Thursday. France ordered the fourth vessel in the class in December, and both units will be built at Naval Group\u2019s site in Lorient in western France, according to the company.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Ministry of the Armed Forces renews its confidence in us to complete the series of defense and intervention frigates,\u201d Naval Group Chief Executive Officer Pierre \u00c9ric Pommellet said in a statement. \u201cWe are thus fully mobilized to provide the French Navy with the means to achieve naval superiority, in the service of France\u2019s sovereignty.\u201d<\/p>\n
Delivery of the last FDI will complete France\u2019s program for a fleet of 15 first-rate frigates, a number that French Navy commander Adm. Nicolas Vaujour has said was dictated by budgetary constraints. Vaujour has maintained his force needs 18 frigates for a \u201ccoherent format,\u201d and some lawmakers have been calling to increase the latest FDI order to eight vessels.<\/p>\n
The program for the five FDI frigates was budgeted at \u20ac4.28 billion ($4.9 billion), according to France\u2019s 2019 accounts. The fifth vessel will be handed over three years later than the original 2029 schedule, in part due to industrial difficulties for the first unit, the Covid-19 pandemic, delays with weapon integration, and reallocation of production slots to accommodate an order by Greece.<\/p>\n
The first frigate in the class, the Amiral Ronarc\u2019h, was delivered in October, and is currently on a long-term deployment. The frigate joined the carrier strike group around the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle in the north Atlantic in February to test its radars, electronic warfare suite and combat system in a tactical environment<\/a>.<\/p>\n Naval Group said the FDI can handle rough seas, with the crew of Amiral Ronarc\u2019h \u201cable to observe its aptitude\u201d during trials in Sea State 6 in the Atlantic Ocean. That sea state corresponds to \u201cvery rough\u201d conditions with waves of 4 to 6 meters, according to the World Meteorological Organization.<\/a><\/p>\n With a length of 122 meters and displacement of around 4,500 tons, the FDI is smaller than new-generation frigates being built or planned in the U.K., Spain, Italy and Germany. The FDIs are designed for high-intensity combat, armed with Exocet anti-ship missiles, Aster air-defense missiles, MU90 torpedoes and a 76 mm cannon, and equipped with a Thales Sea Fire radar with four fixed panels.<\/p>\n Naval Group\u2019s FDI is in competition for a Swedish order for four frigates, with a decision expected in coming months. France has touted its ability to supply a fully equipped and armed frigate<\/a> in 2030, the target set by the Swedish government for first deliveries, with Naval Group saying in October<\/a> the yard is able to produce two FDI frigates a year.<\/p>\n Norway in August last year picked the United Kingdom\u2019s Type 26 frigate<\/a>, primarily manufactured by BAE Systems, over the smaller French design.<\/p>\n Greece in November exercised an option for a fourth FDI frigate, on top of three vessels previously ordered, and in March sent the frigate Kimon, its first vessel in the class, to Cyprus<\/a>.<\/p>\n