The FREMM Normandie multi-mission frigate, second of the series ordered by OCCAR on behalf of the DGA (Direction Générale de l’Armement) and the French Navy, left the DCNS site in Lorient on 14 May on its way to the DCNS site in Toulon.
Over the next few weeks, DCNS will perform a new series of sea trials to test the performance of the FREMM’s combat system before delivery to the French Navy at the end of 2014.
This series of sea trials, which will take place in the Mediterranean, will allow the Navy’s operating crew and the DGA, OCCAR and DCNS specialists to check the performance of the main combat system sensors and their integration into the frigate’s Combat Management System.
“This period of sea trials is an essential phase in the program: it is focused on the vessel’s combat system. Concretely, the teams will test all the software and equipment parts that make the FREMM one of the most versatile and capable frigates in the world”, underlines Anne Bianchi, Director of the FREMM program.
During these trials, the teams on board will simulate different operational scenarios to collect the information delivered by the vessel’s different sensors. Numerous tests are performed including in particular electronic warfare and tactical data link tests.
The teams will carry out these exercises thanks to the contribution of helicopters, fighters and vessels provided by the French Navy, and with the human and data-processing resources of the DGA’s technical centres. The performance of these trials off the Toulon coast will thus allow the optimized use of such naval and air support.
Further to these trials, the FREMM Normandie will return to the DCNS site in Lorient so that the final finishing work can be carried out over the summer before its delivery to the French Navy in the final quarter of 2014.
[mappress] Press Release, May 16, 2014; Image: DCNS