DCNS Floats FREMM Multi-Mission Frigate Languedoc

On 12 July 2014, DCNS floated the FREMM multi-mission frigate Languedoc in Lorient, France.

The achievement of this industrial milestone marks an important step in the construction of the vessel. It once again underlines the industrial dynamism of DCNS: five multi-mission frigates are under simultaneous construction, at different stages of advancement.

Today, on its Lorient site, DCNS floated the FREMM Languedoc, fourth of the series ordered by Organisation for Joint Armament Cooperation (OCCAr) on behalf of the French DGA (Direction Générale de l’Armement) and the French Navy.

The technical operations started in the morning with the floating of the construction frame. The different steps of the floating operation were continued over the course of the day, culminating in the frigate being moved out of its construction dock. Over the course of a manoeuvre that lasted about fifteen minutes, tug boats successfully guided the frigate to the quay on the DCNS site in Lorient, where its construction will continue.

“Over the coming months, the Group’s teams alongside the teams of its subcontractors will pursue the assembly and integration of the different systems on the FREMM Languedoc,” explains Anne Bianchi, Director of the FREMM Program at DCNS. “The next major step will be the installation of the mast structures with the vessel’s main sensors (radars, antennas, cameras, radar jammers). They will then be integrated into the latest-generation SETIS® combat management system, developed by the Group.”

DCNS started the construction of the FREMM Languedoc, fourth of the series for the French Navy, in September 2011. This new-generation frigate will be operated by a streamlined crew of 108 sailors (i.e., half the number required for frigates of the previous generation).

The FREMM is capable of executing versatile anti-aircraft as well as anti-surface and anti-submarine warfare missions. The first multi-mission FREMM frigate, the Aquitaine, built for the French Navy, was accepted by OCCAr on 23 November 2012 on behalf of the DGA (Direction Générale de l’Armement. The second FREMM frigate, the Normandie, will be delivered at the end of 2014.