Third FREMM frigate delivered for French Navy

PARIS, March 18 (UPI) -- French shipbuilder DCNS this week delivered a third multi-mission frigate, or FREMM, for the French Navy.

The delivery of the Languedoc was made to the Organization for Joint Armament Cooperation, which was acting on behalf of the French agency for armament procurement agency DGA.

"This event once again demonstrates the industrial success of the largest European naval defense program," DCNS said. "The FREMM frigates are amongst some of the highest-performance, latest-generation combat vessels on the market and have already won over three client navies."

FREMM Languedoc is the fifth FREMM unit to be built by DCNS and the third intended for the French Navy.

Italy also builds FREMM frigates. The Royal Moroccan Navy and Egyptian Navy each operate a FREMM ship.

Two earlier FREMM frigates for France, the Aquitaine and Provence, have participated in the U.S. Navy's Task Force 50 actions in the Persian-Arabian Gulf along with the carrier Charles de Gaulle. The task force, which includes coalition ships, is to degrade and destroy the Islamic State terrorist organization.

"The delivery of the FREMM Languedoc represents an opportunity to highlight the serial effects of a program that DCNS clients can take advantage of," said Anne Bianchi, DCNS' director of the FREMM program. "With this fifth unit, DCNS has again improved its industrial and economic performance.

"It was possible to reduce the duration of the sea acceptance trials for the Languedoc frigate to five weeks, thanks to the experience acquired for the FREMMs already delivered. The DCNS teams and our partners have, in effect, attained an unprecedented level of vessel completion even before its first sea outing."

Under the FREMM program, France is to receive a total of eight frigates.

FREMM frigates for France are about 465.8 feet in length and have a maximum speed of about 20 knots. Weaponry includes naval cruise missiles and torpedoes.