On 16 December, Naval Group laid the keel of the first Defence and Intervention Frigate (FDI) ordered by the French Defence Procurement Agency. The ship will be delivered in 2024 and is the first of five to be delivered between 2024 and 2030.
On the same day, the Panoramic Sensors and Intelligence Module, the integrated mast of the FDI, was also powered up. This marks the start of the testing of the frigate’s complete combat system, several months before its final integration on the ship.
The first FDI frigate will be named AMIRAL RONARC’H, Chief of Staff of the French Navy between 1919 and 1920.
JH