11. April 2017
FREMM frigate “Auvergne” delivered to the French Navy
On 11th April 2017, the French FREMM ASW (Anti Submarine Warfare) Follow on Ship “Auvergne” was accepted by OCCAR on behalf of the Direction Générale de l’Armement (DGA) - the French defence procurement agency - and delivered to the French Navy.
The acceptance ceremony was hosted by Arturo ALFONSO MEIRIÑO, OCCAR-EA Director, in presence of General Engineer Laurent SELLIER, Director of the French "Naval Programs Unit" of the DGA, most OCCAR-EA FREMM Programme Division staff members including the Programme Manager and his Deputy, the DGA National Programme Coordinator and government’s experts, French Navy Senior Officers and DCNS senior representatives.
During his speech, Arturo ALFONSO MEIRIÑO highlighted that “with 8 frigates ordered by France and 10 by Italy, this major programme remains the most ambitious and largest European naval initiative. FREMM is an excellent example of a European cooperation through OCCAR and testifies that the flexibility, the delegation, the contract framework that OCCAR can use allow us to manage even large and complex programmes like the FREMM in a highly successful manner.”
From left to right at the acceptance ceremony:
IGA Laurent SELLIER (DGA, Director of "Naval Programmes Unit"); Nicolas GASPARD (DCNS, FREMM Project Manager); Arturo ALFONSO MEIRIÑO (OCCAR-EA Director); Leonardo BIANCHI (OCCAR-EA FREMM Programme Manager); Jean-Noël HERON (OCCAR-EA FREMM Deputy Programme Manager)
The successful delivery of this fourth French FREMM frigate with advanced performance and on time provides further evidence of the highly responsive OCCAR procurement process. It is the result of an improved FREMM frigate design and construction process implemented by DCNS Industry in close collaboration with the OCCAR-EA FREMM Programme Division and teams from DGA and the French Navy.
The Auvergne in Toulon
After a short period of training, the “Auvergne” frigate, which is based in Toulon naval base, will be deployed on operational activities.
The French FREMM frigates are extensively armed and are equipped with the most capable weapon systems and equipment, such as the Héraclès multifunction radar, the Naval Cruise Missile, the Aster and Exocet MM40 missiles or the MU 90 torpedoes.
The delivery of the next FREMM frigate to the French Navy - the ASM Follow on Ship “Bretagne” - is planned for mid-2018. For the record, the First of Class ASW frigate “Aquitaine” and the Follow on Ships frigates “Provence” and “Languedoc” were respectively accepted by OCCAR and delivered to the French Navy in November 2012, June 2015 and March 2016. Three other French FREMM frigates are currently being built simultaneously and are at different stages of assembly and construction at DCNS Lorient shipyard.
