French Navy's La Fayette class frigate Aconit visits India.

According to information published by the Indian MoD on November 3, 2022, French Navy Ship Aconit, one of the five La Fayette Class frigates of the French Navy was on a goodwill visit to Mumbai from 28 October to 02 November 2022.
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French La Fayette class frigate Aconit (Picture source: Indian Navy)

The ship's crew had professional and social interactions with personnel of Indian Navy. The visit culminated with an exercise at sea with a warship of the IN's Western Fleet. The frigate had earlier visited Visakhapatnam in 2015.

Over the decades, cooperation between India and France has grown exponentially in various defence related fields. The current visit of FNS Aconit to Mumbai is a reflection of the growing cooperation between the two navies and their enhanced interoperability. With peace and stability in the region being of common interest, the two navies are committed to working together towards that goal.

About the frigate Aconit

Aconit is a general-purpose stealth frigate of the French Navy. Initially to be named Jauréguiberry, she is now the fourth French vessel named after the FNFL corvette Aconit.

The ships were originally known as "stealth frigates" due to their unique stealth design at the time. Their reduced radar cross section is achieved by a clean superstructure compared to conventional designs, angled sides, and radar absorbent material, a composite material of wood and glass fibre as hard as steel, light, and resistant to fire. Most modern combat ships built since the introduction of the La Fayette class have followed the same principles of stealth.

The ships are designed to accommodate a 10-tonne (9.8-long-ton) helicopter in the Panther or NH90 range (though they are also capable of operating the Super Frelon and similar heavy helicopters).

These helicopters can carry anti-ship missiles AM39 or AS15, and they can be launched during sea state five or six due to the Samahé helicopter handling system. France ordered five ships of the La Fayette class in 1988, the last of which entered service in 2001.