French shipbuilder DCNS has released a promotional CGI video of its new frigate Belharra performing a multitude of tasks and destroying another ship with its guns and missiles.
The video also shows the frigate deploying unmanned aerial vehicles and torpedoes.
To be used by the French Navy as the new FTI (Fregate de Taille Intermediaire) medium-size frigate, the 4,000-tonne front-line frigate will be equipped for anti-submarine warfare with widened self-defence and commando-projection capacities.
Hoping to build on the international market success of the La Fayette, which the new frigate is expected to replace, DCNS is also offering an export version of the new frigate. As the company explained, the name BELH@RRA is a reference to Europe’s only giant wave: the Belharra. The first “a” transformed into an @ makes reference to the highly digital nature of the frigate.
The French Navy envisions to operate five frigates of the class with first delivery to the navy expected in 2023.