On November 7, 2022, the official launching ceremony of the head French multipurpose frigate of the new generation D 660 Amiral Ronarc'h type FDI (Frégates de Défense et d'Intervention) took place in the arsenal of the French shipbuilding association Naval Group in Lorian.
Launching ceremony of the lead French multipurpose frigate D 660 Amiral Ronarc'h of the new type of FDI (Frégates de Défense et d'Intervention) in the arsenal of the French shipbuilding association Naval Group in Lorian, 07.11.2022 (c) Naval GroupThe ceremony was attended by French Minister of the Armed Forces Sebastien Lecornou and Greek Minister of National Defense Nikolaos Panagiotopoulos.
In fact, due to bad weather, the frigate's hull, after filling the dock of the construction boathouse, was not taken out from there to the completion embankment, and this process was postponed for several days. The ship was named in honor of Admiral Pierre-Alexis Ronarch (1865-1940), who was during the First World War the commander of the Naval Rifle Brigade, who gained great fame, and then commander of the French naval forces on the Atlantic coast, and in 1919-1920 - Chief of Staff (commander) of the French fleet.
It is planned that the frigate Amiral Ronarc'h will be tested at the end of 2023 and will be commissioned into the French fleet in mid or late 2024.
The General Directorate of Armaments (DGA) of the Ministry of the Armed Forces of France issued Naval Group contracts in 2017 and 2019 for the construction of five FDI-type frigates for the French Navy to replace five La Fayette-type frigates in the fleet, with a planned commissioning period from 2024 to 2029. The steel cutting ceremony for the lead frigate of the new type D 660 Amiral Ronarc'h took place at the arsenal in Lorian on October 24, 2019, the official laying ceremony of the ship was held on December 16, 2021.
The next four frigates of the type FDI were also named after the French admirals of the twentieth century - D 661 Amiral Louzeau, D 662 Amiral Castex, D 663 Amiral Nomy and D 664 Amiral Cabanier. The construction of the second ship Amiral Louzeau was started in Lorian in the summer of 2022.
FDI-type frigates are smaller ships than FREMM-type frigates currently under construction for the French Navy, and until the end of 2018 were officially designated as "intermediate-size frigates" (Frégates de Taille Intermédiaire - FTI). A feature of the architecture of the frigates of the type FDI is the "water-cutting" shape of the bow of the ship. The total displacement of the frigate type FDI is 4500 tons, the maximum length is 122 m, width is 18 m. The power plant is diesel (four diesel engines with a total capacity of 42900 hp), the highest speed is 27 knots, the cruising range is 5000 miles at 15 knots, the autonomy is 45 days. The crew is 125 people with the possibility of accommodating another 28 people.
The armament of the FDI-type frigates should include eight MBDA Exocet MM40 Block 3C missile launchers, 16 Aster 15/30 vertical launch launchers, one 76 mm and two 20 mm artillery mounts, four 324 mm torpedo tubes, the NH90 Cayman helicopter is based in the hangar, as well as UAVs. The electronic armament will include a new multifunctional radar complex Thales Sea Fire 500 c AFAR in an integrated mast, SETIS control system, Kingklip Mk 11 and towed GAS CAPTAS 4, Aquilon communications complex, iXblue MARINS and iXblue NetANS navigation systems and SENTINEL electronic warfare complex.
The export version of the FDI frigates is promoted by Naval Group as a modular project under the designation BELH@RRA. In March 2022, an agreement worth about 3 billion euros was signed on the acquisition by Greece of three FDI-type frigates in France (the option for Greece is designated FDI HN), with an option for another frigate. The Greek Navy assigned three ordered frigates of this type names in honor of the Greek ancient naval commanders - F 601 Kimon ("Kimon", ΚΙΜΩΝ), F 602 Nearchos ("Nearchus", VΕΑΡΧΟΣ) and F 603 Formion ("Formion", ΦΟΡΜΙΩΝ). All three frigates ordered by Greece are to be built by Naval Group in Loriana as part of a single production program with French ships of this type, with the first two Greek frigates to be commissioned in 2025, and the third in 2026. This is expected to lead to a one-year shift (for 2026 and 2027) of the deadlines for the delivery of the second and third frigates of the type FDI for the French fleet. The ceremony of the official laying and exhibition of the first block of the hull of the head frigate F 601 Kimon (ΚΙΜΩΝ) type FDI HN under construction for the Greek Navy html" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">took place in Lorian on October 21, 2022.
Launching ceremony of the head French multipurpose frigate D 660 Amiral Ronarc'h of the new type of FDI (Frégates de Défense et d'Intervention) in the arsenal of the French shipbuilding association Naval Group in Lorient, 07.11.2022 (c) Naval Group, the Ministry of the Armed Forces of France and AFP
