Naval Group starts construction of first new Replenishment Vessel for French Navy.

The first steel plate of the hull of the first of the four new Bâtiments Ravitailleurs de Force (BRF) - replenishment vessels - of the French Navy has been cut today during a ceremony held in the machining workshop of Chantiers de l’Atlantique, in presence of Florence Parly, Minister of the Armed Forces, and Admiral Prazuck, Chief of French Navy. This ceremony marked symbolically the start of the construction of the first vessel of the FLOTLOG program.
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Official cutting ceremony for the first steel plate of new replenishment vessels for the French Navy.May 18, 2020 (Picture source Naval Group)

The order for the construction of the four ships was notified in January 2019 to the temporary association of companies formed by Chantiers de l'Atlantique and Naval Group. Deliveries are scheduled from end 2022 to 2029. This order for the French Navy is part of a Franco-Italian program led by OCCAR, on behalf of DGA, the French Defence Procurement Agency, and its Italian counterpart NAVARM.

The BRF with a capacity of 13 000 m3 have a mission of logistical support of the combat vessels of the French Navy. They carry fuel, ammunition, spare parts, as well as food for the vessels.

Compliant with international standards, their characteristics are adapted to their specific missions of support to the aviation group constituted around the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle, flagship of the naval air force group.

Chantiers de l'Atlantique carries out the global design and the construction of the four ships and ensures the integration and the implementation of the embedded systems.

"We are at the very start of a new industrial story, which will feature once again our know how in design, building and integration of cutting edge technologies”, states Laurent Castaing, General Manager, Chantiers de l’Atlantique. “This is also an excellent opportunity to demonstrate our complementarity of our businesses with those of our partner Naval Group”.

Naval Group is responsible for the design, development and integration of the military systems of the platform. The combat system of the four ships, whose architecture is based on the Polaris Combat Management System of Naval Group, ensures the protection against close threats and the fight against asymmetric threats.

“Naval Group is proud to stand once again by Chantiers de l’Atlantique in the frame of this European program. This cooperation brings together the best civilian and naval expertise and will benefit our customers both on economic and operational aspects”, highlights Pierre-Eric Pommelet, Naval Group CEO.