French frigate La Fayette

La Fayette is a second-line multi-mission stealth frigate of the French Navy (Marine Nationale).[1] She is the second French vessel named after the 18th century general Marquis de Lafayette. She is the lead ship of the class, which is also used by the Royal Saudi Navy.[2]

For other ships with the same name, see French ship La Fayette.

History
France
Name:	La Fayette
Namesake:	Marquis de Lafayette
Laid down:	15 December 1990
Launched:	13 June 1992
Commissioned:	22 March 1996
Homeport:	Toulon
Fate:	in active service
General characteristics
Class and type:	La Fayette-class frigate
Displacement:	3,200 tonnes 3,600 tonnes fully loaded
Length:	125 m (410 ft)
Beam:	15.4 m (51 ft)
Draught:	4.8 m (16 ft)
Propulsion:	4 diesel SEMT Pielstick 12PA6V280 STC2, 21,000 hp (16,000 kW)
Speed:	25 knots (46 km/h)
Range:	7,000 nautical miles (13,000 km) at 15 knots (28 km/h), 9000 at 12 knots (22 km/h)
Complement:	12 officers 68 non-commissioned officers 61 men
Sensors and processing systems:	1 × Air/Surface DRBV 15C sentry radar 1 × firing control radar for the 100 mm gun 1 × DRBN34 navigation radar 1 × DRBN34 landing radar
Electronic warfare & decoys:	1 × Saïgon ARBG 1 radio interceptor 1 × ARBR 21 radar interceptor 2 × Dagaie Mk2 chaff launcher 1 × AN/SLQ-25 Nixie tugged noise maker 1 × Prairie-Masker noise reduction system 1 × Syracuse II 1 × Inmarsat
Armament:	Anti-ship; 8 × Exocet MM40 block II anti-ship missiles Guns; 1 × 100 mm TR automatic gun 2 × 20 mm modèle F2 guns Anti-aircraft; 1 × Crotale CN2 launcher (8 missiles on the launcher with 16 reload) (Provision for future 16 × Aster 15 missiles in VLS)
Armour:	On sensitive areas (munition magazine and control centre)
Aircraft carried:	1 × helicopter (Panther or NH90)

Gallery

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In popular culture

• La Fayette was featured in the 1995 James Bond film GoldenEye, as the site for the unveiling of the Eurocopter Tiger, which is subsequently stolen in the film.[3] The 1997 video game based on the movie, GoldenEye 007, released for the Nintendo 64, includes a hostage rescue mission on board La Fayette. This mission was reimagined for the game's 2010 remake, developed for the Wii and Nintendo DS consoles, as well as its own 2011 remaster, GoldenEye 007: Reloaded, available for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 platforms.

References

1. Lavers, Christopher (2012). Reeds Vol 14: Stealth Warship Technology. Reeds Marine Engineering and Technology Series. Thomas Reed Publications. p. 134. ISBN 9781408175538.
2. "FS La Fayette (F710) Light Stealth Frigate Warship (1996)". MilitaryFactory.com. Retrieved January 20, 2017.
3. Rayner, Jonathan (2013). The Naval War Film: Genre, History and National Cinema. Manchester University Press. ISBN 9781847796257.