Naval Group has completed construction of the FREMM multi-mission frigate Normandie for the French Navy.
With completion of Normandie, Naval Group has built six multi-mission frigates for the navy.
The milestone was celebrated at a ceremony attended by the French Minister for the Armed Forces Florence Parly and the French Navy chief of staff admiral Christophe Prazuck.
Normandie is equipped with the Herakles multi-function radar, the naval cruise missile, the Aster and Exocet MM40 missiles and MU 90 torpedoes. The vessel measures 142m in length and 20m in width.
Naval Group CEO Hervé Guillou said: “We are proud to meet the expectations set by the military programming law. Today, with the completion of the FREMM Normandie, Naval Group has fulfilled its commitment.
“This industrial and technical success, which represents more than 2.5 million working hours, encourages us to keep on completing our mission in service of our national and international clients. This project shows once again the firm’s capacity to respect its engagements in terms of costs, deadlines and performance.”
Naval Group will soon deliver the Normandie frigate in Brest. The frigate was built under a programme managed by the OCCAR on behalf of the French Navy and Defence Procurement Agency (DGA).
The company will begin construction of two FREMM frigates, the Alsace and the Lorraine, with reinforced air defence capabilities and the Defence and Intervention Frigate (FDI), which is regarded as the first fully digital warship.
These two frigates will be delivered in 2021 and 2022.
First steel cut for the FDI warships is planned to take place in October this year. Naval Group expects to deliver the fully digital warships from 2023.