After the end of the cold war, the threat from the Soviet Union ceased, and so did European naval doctrine
The French Navy focused on protecting its economic zone and invested in the development and construction
of a new class of light frigates for surveillance purposes - known as the Floreal class
A total of six frigates were built between 1990 and 1993, and are still in service today
The Floréal class has a standard displacement of 2,600 tonnes and 3,000 tonnes at full load
The frigates measure 93.5 metres overall with a beam of 14 metres, and a draught of 4.3 m
Due to the frigates' broad beams, they are equipped with fin stabilisers
The hull and superstructure are made of welded steel with transverse bulkheads
The frigates are powered by a combined diesel and diesel system comprising four SEMT Pielstick 6 PA6 L280 BPC diesel engines
rated at 8,820 hp, driving two shafts
The Floréal-class frigates have a maximum speed of 20 knots and a range of 9,000 nautical miles at 15 knots
The class was initially only to be armed with the weaponry that would be required for the patrol mission, but this was later increased
The frigates were armed with two Exocet MM38 surface-to-surface missiles in launchers
situated centrally atop the midships superstructure
Each missile had a range of 42 kilometres, carried a 165 kg warhead and could reach speeds up to Mach 0.9
However, at the end of the missile's life cycle in 2014
the launchers were removed as the French Navy did not intend to replace the capability aboard the ships
The ships mount one 100 mm CADAM turret with the Najir fire control system located forwards
The 100 mm gun can fire 78 rounds per minute, up to a range of 17 km
The frigates are also equipped with two 20 mm modèle F2 guns situated in atop the aft superstructure
which can fire 720 rounds per minute up to 10 kilometres
The frigates are equipped with DRBV-21C (Mars) air sentry
Racal Decca RM1290 navigation and Racal Decca RM1290 landing radars along with ARBG-1A Saïgon communications intercept
CSF ARBR 16A radar intercept electronic surveillance systems and two Dagaie decoy systems
At the stern is a helipad and a hangar
The frigates are capable of operating the embarked Eurocopter AS565 Panther up to sea state 5
and are capable of operating helicopters up to the size of the Eurocopter AS332 Super Puma.
The vessels have a complement of 90 including the aircrew and officers and 24 marines with capacity for a further 13 personnel
The ships are equipped with improved medical facilities including a consultation room and hospital beds for use during humanitarian missions