The French Navy is planning to build a new class of frigates, identified as the Amiral Ronarc'h class, also known as FDI frigates
The class will include 5 frigates
The first ship, the Amiral Ronarc'h, was laid down on 17 December 2021, and is expected to be commissioned in 2024
These ships will replace the La Fayette class frigates
and will provide the service with a compact intermediate-sized multimission frigate to augment its two Horizon anti-air warfare frigates
and the eight Aquitaine-class vessels
This is a class with a moderate size, which will better meet the needs of the export market
and can also maintain the development and production capacity of French shipyards
Amiral Ronarc'h will have a displacement of about 4,460 tons, a length of 122 m and a beam of 17.7 m
The Propulsion will be a Combined diesel and diesel arrangement with a total capacity of 43,000 horsepower
The maximum speed can be up to 27 knots, the operating range reaches 5,000 nmi
The main gun will be an Oto Melara 76 mm Super Rapid gun mounted in stealth cupola, in addition to 2 × 20 mm remotely operated guns
Anti-ship weapons are eight Exocet MM-40 Block 3 missiles
To counter air threats, there are 16 Sylver A50 vertical launch cells for MBDA Aster 15/30 surface-to-air missiles
Anti-submarine weapons will be 2 × dual torpedo tubes with EuroTorp MU90 Impact torpedoes
The ships will be equipped with avionics and sensors developed by Thales
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
In order to speed up manufacturing and meet the tight handover deadline, the ship’s mast with its radars, cameras, and battle system
will be manufactured separately from the rest of the vessel and then mounted onto the almost-finished hull
The Sea Fire multifunction 4 fixed panel radar, the digital RESM (radar electronic support measure)
and the CESM (communications electronic support measure)
the 360-degree observation and surveillance system and the new version of Naval Group’s SETIS combat system
can all be tested and integrated into the mast long before the hull itself is finished
Admiral Ronarc’h is the first ship to be equipped with this new SETIS system