April 4, 2026:
Later this year France will put into service the first of five French 4,500-ton
Amiral Ronarc'h
intervention frigates.
These 122 meter-long ships have a top speed of 50 kilometers an hour and a range of 9,300 kilometers while cruising at 28 kilometers an hour. Endurance is 45 days. The ships are operated by a crew of 125 that operate AESA air and surface search radar, fire control and hull and towed radar. Weapons include a 76mm cannon, two 20mm remotely controlled autocannon for anti-missile and small boat threats. There are eight Exocet anti-ship missiles. There are two eight cell VLS/Vertical Launch System cells for anti-aircraft missiles. There are four tubes loaded with MU90 anti-submarine torpedoes. Also carried are one surveillance drone and a NH90 helicopter.
France has a long history of developing new warships. One notable example was seen eleven years ago when France developed the FREMM/Frigate European Multi-mission. These ships cost about a billion dollars each. The 6,000 ton FREMMs are 142 meters long, with a top speed of 50 kilometers an hour and range of 11,000 kilometers. The ships are highly automated, with a crew of only 108 sailors. Equipment and weapons vary a bit as each nation prefers to arm the vessels with locally produced weapons and equipment. The most common armament is half a dozen Mu-90 torpedoes, eight Otomat Mk2A anti-ship missiles or Exocet MM40 anti-ship missiles. All FREMMs use Aster 15 and 30 anti-aircraft missiles with a max range 30 kilometers for model 15 and 100 kilometers for model 30. There are two 25mm autocannon and two helicopters. The Italian FREMMs are equipped with towed sonar, so that they can specialize in anti-submarine operations. France produced FREMM optimized for air defense. France also equipped its FREMMs so that some of the Aster missiles can be replaced with Scalp cruise missiles that have a range of over 1,000 kilometers.
All FREMMs have the Eurotorp MU90 Impact torpedo. MU90 has a directed energy warhead and a range of 12 kilometers at maximum speed and 25 kilometers at minimum speed. French FREMMs use one OTO Melara 76mm Super Rapid gun while Italian FREMMs have two OTO Melara 127mm that use guided shells.