Fincantieri delivers forward section of French LSS Jacques Chevallier.

According to a press release published by Fincantieri on November 6, 2021, the forward section of “Jacques Chevallier”, the first of four logistic support units LSS (Logistic Support Ship) ordered by Chantiers de l’Atlantique to Fincantieri under the FLOTLOG program (“Flotte logistique”), was delivered today at the Castellammare di Stabia (Naples) shipyard.
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Artist rendering of future Logistic Support Ship, or BRF (Picture source: Twitter account of Chief of Staff of the French Navy)

The FLOTLOG program consists in the construction of four Logistic Support Ships (LSS), destined to the French Navy, by the temporary consortium between Chantiers de l’Atlantique and Naval Group under the Italian-French LSS Program led by OCCAR (Organisation for Joint Armament Co-operation) on behalf of DGA, the French Armament General Directorate, and its Italian counterpart, NAVARM.

The highly innovative LSS program, similarly to the units of the multi-year program for the renewal of the Italian Navy’s fleet, provides a considerable degree of efficiency and flexibility in serving different mission profiles.

The LSS unit combines features of transportation and transfer to other vessels of both liquid (diesel fuel, jet fuel, freshwater) and solid loads (emergency spare parts, food, and ammunitions). The first vessel, “Vulcano”, has been delivered by Fincantieri to the Italian Navy at the beginning of 2021.

The bâtiments ravitailleurs de forces, or BRF, are a class of future fleet tankers that are to replace the Durance-class units in French Navy service. Until January 2019, the program was known as Flotte logistique (abbreviated FLOTLOG in military parlance). Delivery of the first unit of the series had been expected in late 2022. However, in 2021 it was indicated that the delivery date for the first ship had slipped to 2023.

The BRF will have a length of 194 m (636 ft 6 in) long, a beam of 27.4 m (89 ft 11 in), and a draught of 9 m (29 ft 6 in). With a displacement of 16,000 tons, she will have a complement of 130 personnel including 60 passengers.