FREMM multipurpose frigate


The FREMM is a class of multi-purpose frigates designed by Naval Group and Fincantieri for the navies of France and Italy. The lead ship of the class, Aquitaine, was commissioned in November 2012 by the French Navy. In France the class is known as the Aquitaine class, while in Italy they are known as the Bergamini class. Italy has ordered six general purpose variants and four anti-submarine variants. France has ordered six anti-submarine variants, and two air-defense variants. The US Navy selected the class to fulfill the FFG requirement, and Fincantieri was given a $795 million contract for the lead ship.

Background

Three original variants of the FREMM were proposed; an anti-submarine variant and a general-purpose variant and a land-attack variant to replace the existing classes of frigates within the French and Italian navies. A total of 27 FREMM were to be constructed - 17 for France and 10 for Italy - with additional aims to seek exports, however budget cuts and changing requirements has seen this number drop significantly for France, while the order for Italy remained unchanged. The land-attack variant was subsequently cancelled.
A third anti-air warfare variant of FREMM was proposed by DCNS in response to French requirements for a new air-defence frigate, the new variant became known as FREDA. This new French requirement was due to the third and fourth Horizon-class frigates being cancelled after the first two cost €1.35B each, but this decision left French Navy still in-need of replacements for its ageing air-defence frigates.
As of 2009, the FREDA design features a more powerful version of the Herakles passive electronically scanned array radar and 32 cells of SYLVER A50 in place of the 16 cells of A43 and 16 cells of A70. The SYLVER A50 would allow it to fire the -range Aster 30 missile; the towed array sonar would not be fitted.
At Euronaval 2012 DCNS showed a new concept called FREMM-ER for the FREDA requirement, again based on the FREMM, but specifically mentioning the ballistic missile defence mission as well as anti-air. FREMM-ER has a modified superstructure replacing Héraklès with the new Thales Sea Fire 500 radar, whose four fixed plates resemble those of the US Navy's AN/SPY-1. However unlike the Héraklès and the SPY-1, the Sea Fire 500 has active electronically scanned array antennas.

Italy

Planning assumptions for the Italian Navy are 10 FREMM-IT at a cost of €5.9 billion. FREMM-IT will replace the and frigates in service with the Italian Navy.
In the 2013 Italian budget, the Italian government laid out the necessary financing for two more GP variants and the contract was awarded in September 2013. On 15 April 2015, the Italian Parliament confirmed the deal between OCCAR and :it:Orizzonte Sistemi Navali|Orizzonte Sistemi Navali Spa to begin building units 9 and 10, for 764 million Euros.
As of 16 April 2015, the Italian government has approved funding for all ten FREMM-IT to be delivered to the Italian Navy.
FREMM-IT 9 & 10 will have undisclosed enhanced capabilities.
All 10 Italian FREMM-ITs have extended AAW capabilities, with SAAM-ESD CMS, Aster 30 and Aster 15 missiles for extended area defence.
SAAM-ESD CMS use Leonardo MFRA, a 3D active radar, an evolved version of the Leonardo EMPAR PESA radar.
Since the 7th FREMM-IT, there will be updates, such as new conformal IFF antenna and much more stealth response.
Since the 9th FREMM-IT, SCLAR-H replaced with Leonardo ODLS-20.
In 2017 the Italian FREMM refit started with the installation on each of 2 SITEP MS-424 acoustic guns.

France

Original plans were for 17 FREMM to replace the nine avisos and nine anti-submarine frigates of the and es. In November 2005 France announced a contract of €3.5 billion for development and the first eight hulls, with options for nine more costing €2.95 billion split over two tranches.
Following the cancellation of the third and fourth of the Horizon-class frigates in 2005 on budget grounds, requirements for an air-defence derivative of the FREMM called FREDA were placed – with DCNS coming up with several proposals. Expectations were that the last two ships of the 17 FREMM planned would be built to FREDA specifications; however, by 2008 the plan was revised down to just 11 FREMM at a cost of €8.75 billion. The 11 ships would cost €670 million each in FY2014, or €860m including development costs.
The 2013 White Paper on Defence and National Security committed France to 15 front-line frigates, which was initially interpreted as 2 Horizons, 5 La Fayettes and a reduction in the FREMM fleet down to 8 ships. The 2014/2019 defence plan restated a target of 11 frigates; the current plan is to deliver six ASW FREMM variants to replace the Georges Leygues-class frigates by 2019, followed by two anti-air variants to replace the ageing Cassard-class frigates and a decision will be taken in 2016 on what version the remaining three will be. In 2014, the French Navy's Chief of Staff, Adm. Bernard Rogel, confirmed that 11 FREMM frigates had been ordered but in 2015 the order was cut to 8 in order to allow the purchase of five FTI Mid-Size frigates from 2023. The FTI will replace the class, which will be fitted with a sonar as an interim measure.

Export

United States

On 10 July 2017 it was reported that the US Congress is pushing foreign designs such as the Fincantieri FREMM for the FFG Guided-Missile Frigate Program. According to Representative Rob Wittman, chairman of the United States House Armed Services Subcommittee on Seapower and Projection Forces, the United States Congress is comfortable with models such as Fincantieri's partnership with Lockheed Martin to build the Freedom version of the LCS. If the Italian FREMM design is selected, the Marinette Marine shipyard in Wisconsin, part of the Fincantieri group, would build the guided-missile frigates. Marinette Marine is best known for the US Navy. On 16 February 2018 Fincantieri Marine was one of five companies which were each awarded a $15 million contract for conceptual design of the frigates, which the Navy will evaluate over 16 months ahead of a final request for proposal in 2019 and a contract award in 2020.
As of August 2019, 8 Freedom-class littoral combat ships have been commissioned for the US Navy, 3 more ships are being fitted out, 2 more are under construction and 3 are on order.
On 30 June 2017, it was announced that Leonardo and BAE Systems will collaborate to provide the US military forces with a wide range of upgraded munitions for advanced, large-calibre weapon systems such as the Leonardo Vulcano and Strales/DART guided munitions.
From late May to early June 2018, the Italian Navy deployed Alpino on a good will visit to the United States along the Eastern seaboard, making port calls in Norfolk, Baltimore, New York City, and Boston. She was visited by several US Navy officials who toured her as a potential candidate for the US Navy's FFG program. Among the visitors was the Italian Ambassador to the United States, Armando Varrichio.
On 30 April 2020, the US Navy announced that Fincantieri had been awarded a $795 million contract for the lead ship, to be built at Fincantierri Marinette Marine in Marinette, Wisconsin. The contract includes options for an additional nine ships, which, if all options were exercised, would value the contract at $5.5 billion.

Morocco

On 24 October 2007 it was announced that the Royal Moroccan Navy had ordered one FREMM to replace its. The contract was signed on 18 April 2008 and construction of the Moroccan FREMM began in the summer 2008 with delivery expected in 2012 or 2013; Mohammed VI was launched in September 2011 and handed over on 30 January 2014. The Moroccan ship is similar to the French anti-submarine version, without SYLVER A70 tubes for SCALP Naval, and cost €470m.

Greece

On 22 January 2009 the Hellenic Navy announced an order for six FREMM to replace an equal number of s. After the Greek government-debt crisis this was cut down to between two and four ships equipped with SCALP Naval, with France alleged to have offered them to Greece at no cost for the first five years. Germany objected to this deal in October 2011 and no deal has been signed. In February 2013 though and during the formal visit of the President of France, François Hollande, in Athens, according to press reports an agreement which includes the long-term leasing of two FREMM frigates to the Hellenic Navy has been reached. On 12 January 2018 the Greek daily newspaper Kathimerini reported that the Greek government is set to enter talks with France regarding the procurement of two FREMM frigates, with an option for an additional two. Contacts between Greece and France were to begin initially at a military level, starting in February 2018. In April 2018, Greek deputy Minister for National Defence Fotis Kouvelis stated that an agreement between France and Greece was reached for a five-year lease of 2 FREMM frigates, which could had been handed over as early as August 2018. After few days, on 25 April 2018 the Greek minister of Defense Panos Kammenos denied any information regarding the purchase of two frigates from France. Eventually, Greece abandoned all plans for the purchase of FREMMs in 2019 and steered all attention to the new FDI Belharra multi-purpose frigates, offered by Naval Group.

Canada

In April 2013, the French government showcased the FREMM class in Halifax with the hope of selling to the Royal Canadian Navy for the Single Class Surface Combatant Project. Canada's Defence Minister at the time, Peter MacKay, commented "I have never seen… such an impressive vessel". DCNS is widely considered one of the leading bidders towards the Single Class Surface Combatants.
In September 2017, a variant of the FREMM was offered directly to the Ministry of Defence, outside of the preferential contractor; in an attempt to protect intellectual property & technology. This direct bid includes fast-delivery of 2019 for the 1st ship if accepted within the year and a fixed price of just $30 billion for all 15 ships, versus the $62 billion estimated for the government's prime-contractor ship building plan.
In December 2017 however, it became clear that the offer was rejected by the Public Services and Procurement Canada, citing the unsolicited nature of the bid as undermining the fair and competitive nature of the procurement".

Egypt

On 16 February 2015, the Egyptian Navy ordered one FREMM vessel to enter service before the opening of the New Suez Canal, as part of a larger deal worth US$5.9 billion. In order to keep to Egypt's deadlines, France offered to send Normandie, originally intended for the French Navy. The SYLVER A70 VLS and NETTUNO-4100 jamming equipment were removed due to export limitations for such sensitive equipment. The crew will be around 126 sailors compared to 108 in the French Navy. The SATCOM antenna for the French Syracuse satellites was also taken down; however, Egypt will use its own military telecommunications satellite, supplied by Airbus Defence and Space and Thales Alenia Space, in conjunction with its naval vessels. From March 2015, DCNS trained the Egyptian crew in the technology of the ship and DCNS and its partners accompanied the crew for a period of 15 months. On 23 June 2015, French naval shipbuilder DCNS transferred the FREMM frigate Tahya Misr to the Egyptian navy. A ceremony took place to transfer Normandie, renamed Tahya Misr to Egypt, in the presence of General Sedki Sobhy, the Egyptian Minister of Defense, Jean-Yves Le Drian, the French Minister of Defense, Admiral Osama Rabie, Egyptian Navy Commander in Chief, Admiral Bernard Rogel, the French Chief of Navy and Hervé Guillou, Chairman & CEO of DCNS

Australia

In April 2016, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull confirmed that the Italian FREMM class was one of three frigates shortlisted for the Royal Australian Navy's replacement. In September 2016, Fincantieri signed a contract to participate in the Competitive Evaluation Process, conducted by the Department of Defence for nine Future Frigates for the Royal Australian Navy. In June 2018, the contract was awarded to BAE Systems to produce nine Hunter-class frigates.

Brazil

In January 2019, the Italian government made an offer of two Bergamini-class frigates to the Brazilian Navy. The frigates Spartaco Schergat and Emilio Bianchi under construction for the Italian Navy, would be transferred to Brazil for €1.5 billion.

Country-specific equipment

Common equipment

The last two ASW variants have been fitted with 16 cells MBDA A50 VLS for MBDA Aster 30 to be used if deemed necessary.

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