PARIS, March 12 (UPI) -- The French navy has completed additional deck landing trials of helicopters on the new FREMM frigate, Aquitaine.
The trials involved NH90 Caiman Marine helicopters, heavy-lift aircraft, which recently entered service with the navy.
"This first deck landing with the new Caiman helicopter is an important milestone in the FREMM program," said Vincent Martinot-Lagarde, FREMM program manager at DCNS.
"The helicopter, together with the combat system designed and developed by DCNS, will bring the FREMM frigates unprecedented capabilities for a warship. Staff from DCNS, the French navy and the DGA (the French military procurement agency) stepped up their efforts to ensure the success of these trials."
The multi-role FREMM frigate is almost 466 feet in length, has a speed of 27 knots and a range of about 6,000 nautical miles at 15 knots. Weaponry includes MdCN cruise missiles, Aster anti-air missiles, Exocet MM40 anti-ship missiles and MU90 torpedoes.
The landing trials using the NH90 were required for the ship to gain qualification for deployment of heavy-lift helicopters. In January, the Aquitaine conducted similar trials with lighter aircraft.
