Breaking news
French Navy Announces Aquitaine-class FREMM Frigate Provence is Now on Active Duty.
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Naval Forces News - France |
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French
Navy Announces Aquitaine-class FREMM Frigate Provence is Now
on Active Duty |
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The
French Navy (Marine Nationale) Chief of Staff Admiral Rogel gave FREMM
(multi-mission frigate) Provence "Actve Duty"
status on June 9. The first two ships of the Aquitaine-class of Frigates
are now "operation proven" vessels according the the French
Navy. |
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 FREMM Provence with aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle French Navy picture |
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Provence
was the first French Navy FREMM to cross the Suez Canal as well as the
first to be integrated to a Carrier Strike Group (CSG) by joining the
US Navy aircraft carrier Harry S. Truman as part of Task Force 58 near
the Strait of Hormuz at the end of 2015. Provence then escorted
the French CSG in December and January with aircraft carrier Charles
de Gaulle engaged in the Persian Gulf in the Chammal operation
against Daesh. Provence was then alongside first ship of the class Aquitaine.
Aquitaine
entered active duty in December 2015. The frigate deployed with a crew of 140 sailors, an NH90 NFH "Caiman" helicopter and an ECUME RHIB belonging to the special forces (commandos marine). Following patrols in the Persian/Arabian Gulf, Provence continued its deployment in the Indian Ocean and South China Sea. |
 French Navy Aquitaine class frigate Provence and Royal Navy Type 45 Destroyer HMS Defender underway together off Sri Lanka. Picture: French Navy |
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In
late March, when it was integrated into CTF 150 (CombinedTask Force150,
one of the three forces of the multinational naval coalition against maritime
traffic), Provence intercepted a ship off Somalia under resolution 2182
of the United Nations security Council, banning arms trafficking in this
area. The search resulted in finding several hundreds of AK47 assault
rifles, sniper rifles, machine guns and RPGs. During the 160 days deployment, Provence sailed across three oceans and four seas, traveling more than 35,000 nautical miles. According to the French Navy, FREMM Frigates missions include: - The control of a zone of air-sea operations; - ASuW, ASW and AAW; - Deep strike with the naval cruise missile; - The support of power projection operations (amphibious, special forces...). To learn more: Link to FREMM Frigate (Aquitaine class) technical datasheet |
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