Frégates de taille intermédiaire

The Frégates de taille intermédiaire (FTI; English: Frigates of intermediate size) is a French military program to design and create a planned class of frigates to be used by the French Navy. At the moment, the program consists of five ships, with commissioning planned from 2023 onwards. The frigate-type has subsequently been identified as a "Frégate de Défense et d'Intervention" (FDI) with the lead ship being named "Admiral Ronarc’h". Construction began in October 2019.[1]

2016 model of a Frégate de Taille Intermédiaire
Class overview
Name: Frégates de taille intermédiaire（FTI）
Builders: Naval Group
Operators:  French Navy
Preceded by: La Fayette class
Built: 2018+
In commission: 2023+
Planned: 5
Building: 1
Completed: 0
General characteristics
Type: General purpose frigate
Displacement: 4.460 t (4.390 long tons; 4.916 short tons)
Length: 122 m (400 ft)
Beam: 17.7 m (58 ft)
Propulsion:
Speed: Maximum: 27 knots (50.0 km/h; 31.1 mph)
Range: 5,000 nmi (9,300 km; 5,800 mi) at 15 knots (27.8 km/h; 17.3 mph)
Complement:
  • 110, excluding air crew detachment of approx. 15
  • air-detachment
Sensors and
processing systems:
Armament:
Aircraft carried: 1 NH90 helicopter equipped with torpedoes, air-to-surface missiles, and/or heavy machine gun

History

The Intermediate Frigate (FTI) program responds to the need for a fleet of fifteen first-class frigates and allows the French Navy to operate in a crisis zone, as recommended in the White Paper on Defense and National Security of 2013. These frigates join the ten examples of the FREMM multipurpose frigate (Aquitaine) class and Horizon class.

Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian announces the launch of this program on 29 May 2015 on the naval aviation base in Lann-Bihoué (Ploemeur, Morbihan). A total of five ships should be produced, the first taking the place within the last three planned Aquitaine Class frigates.

The FTIs, of a contained size, would better correspond to the demands of the export markets according to the Directorate-General for Armaments and also make it possible to maintain the development and production capacities of the French shipyards.

These ships will replace the La Fayette class frigates ship for ship, currently used as first rank frigates but considered to be insufficiently armed. A modernization of three vessels in this class is planned, awaiting delivery of the first intermediate size frigate in 2023.

According to Admiral Bernard Rogel and the Direction générale de l'Armement, the latter would be endowed with significant anti-aircraft capabilities with active antenna radar and fixed planes, anti-submarine means (helicopter and towed sonar ), and would have a displacement of 4,000 to 4,500 tonnes.

The French Defence Ministry announced the attribution to DCNS of a contract for the development and construction of five intermediate-size frigates (FTIs) intended for the French Navy on the 21 April 2017.[2] The new frigate, to be named BELH@RRA, will be equipped with electronic systems and sensors developed by Thales[3] and will be equipped with Aster 30 missiles from MBDA Aster 15/30:[2]

  • The SEA FIRE all-digital multi-function radar with four fixed antennas, which will meet the requirements of a broad range of missions, from ship self-defence to extended air defence, and can deploy MBDA Aster 15/30
  • The compact version of the CAPTAS-4 towed-array sonar, delivers the same ultra-long-range detection performance as the original version of CAPTAS-4 with 20% lower weight and a footprint almost 50% smaller, claimed to be the best in its class by Thales.
  • The Aquilon integrated digital communications system, and an IFF (Identification Friend of Foe) associated with the SEA FIRE radar
  • The SENTINEL system, an advanced digital electronic warfare system built around a modular architecture.

Ships
Admiral Ronarc’h class
Number Ship Builder Laid down Launched Commissioned Status
Amiral Ronarc’h DCNS Lorient 24 October 2019 Building
Amiral Louzeau
Amiral Castex
Amiral Nomy
Amiral Cabanier
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References
  1. https://www.defensenews.com/global/europe/2019/10/25/naval-group-starts-construction-on-frances-newest-frigate/
  2. "The intermediate-size frigate programme: DCNS is pleased to have been informed by the French Defence Ministry of a contract attribution" (in French). Naval Group. 2017-04-21. Retrieved 2020-01-21.
  3. "Thales high-tech systems on board French Navy's future medium-size frigates". Thales Group. 2016-10-18. Retrieved 2020-01-21.
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