French frigate Auvergne

Auvergne (D654) is an Aquitaine-class frigate of the French Navy. The Aquitaine class were developed from the FREMM multipurpose frigate program.

Auvergne in the Persian Gulf on 19 September 2017
History
France
NameAuvergne
NamesakeAuvergne
BuilderDCNS, Lorient
Laid downAugust 2012
Launched2 September 2015
Completed11 April 2017
Commissioned14 February 2018
HomeportToulon (transferring to Brest in 2022)[1][2]
Identification
StatusActive
General characteristics
Class and type Aquitaine-class frigate
Displacement6,000 tons
Length466 ft (142.0 m)
Beam65 ft (19.8 m)
Draught16 ft (4.9 m)
Propulsion
Speed27 knots (50 km/h; 31 mph); max cruise speed 15.6 knots (28.9 km/h; 18.0 mph)
Range6,000 nmi (11,000 km; 6,900 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph)
Complement145
Sensors and
processing systems
Armament
Aircraft carried1 × NH90 helicopter
Aviation facilitiesSingle hangar

Development and design

Original plans were for 17 FREMM to replace the nine D'Estienne d'Orves-class avisos and nine anti-submarine frigates of the Tourville and Georges Leygues classes. In November 2005 France announced a contract of €3.5 billion for development and the first eight hulls, with options for nine more costing €2.95 billion split over two tranches (totaling 17).

Following the cancellation of the third and fourth of the Horizon-class frigates in 2005 on budget grounds, requirements for an air-defence derivative of the FREMM called FREDA were placed – with DCNS coming up with several proposals.[4] Expectations were that the last two ships of the 17 FREMM planned would be built to FREDA specifications; however, by 2008 the plan was revised down to just 11 FREMM (9 ASW variants and 2 FREDA variants) at a cost of €8.75 billion (FY13, ~US$12 billion).[5] The 11 ships would cost €670 million (~US$760m) each in FY2014, or €860m (~US$980m) including development costs.[5]

Construction and career

Auvergne was developed as part of a joint Italian-French program known as FREMM, which was implemented to develop a new class of frigates for use by various European navies. Constructed from 2012. On 2 September 2015, the frigate Auvergne was launched.

Views of Auvergne

References
  1. "La frégate Alsace a rejoint Toulon". 6 April 2021.
  2. "Florence Parly confirme l'arrivée d'une 4e FREMM à Brest".
  3. "Photos: Naval Group Launches 'Lorraine', its Final FREMM Frigate". 13 November 2020.
  4. "FREMM : Supprimer des frégates, un non sens économique et stratégique?". Mer et Marine (in French). 19 September 2007. Archived from the original on 18 May 2013. Retrieved 23 January 2013.
  5. "Projet de loi de finances pour 2015 : Défense : équipement des forces" (in French). Senate of France. 20 November 2014. Archived from the original on 16 December 2014. Retrieved 2015-02-22.
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