U.S. Navy honors French frigate FREMM Aquitaine with Hook ’Em Award after anti-submarine operations.

On March 11, 2026, the French Navy FREMM frigate Aquitaine received the US Navy Sixth Fleet Hook Em Award in Naples, for its operational anti-submarine warfare performance in the North Atlantic in 2025.

On March 11, 2026, the US Navy Sixth Fleet awarded the Hook ’Em Award to the French Navy FREMM frigate Aquitaine in Naples. The distinction recognizes its operational anti-submarine warfare performance during detection and tracking missions conducted in the North Atlantic in 2025.
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The Hook ’Em Award was given following the Aquitaine's operational performance recorded during anti-submarine missions conducted in the North Atlantic in 2025. (Picture source: French Navy)

On March 11, 2026, the French Navy multi-mission frigate FREMM Aquitaine received the Hook ’Em Award, a U.S. Navy Sixth Fleet distinction recognizing operational excellence in anti-submarine warfare. The award was presented in Naples by Commodore Doug Sattler, commander of Task Force 69, to the commander of crew B of the frigate following operational performance recorded during anti-submarine missions conducted in the North Atlantic in 2025. The distinction is usually attributed to U.S. Navy units operating within the Sixth Fleet’s area of responsibility, which covers Europe, the Mediterranean Sea, and adjacent Atlantic approaches.

In this case, the award recognized the operational results obtained during submarine detection and tracking operations conducted by the FREMM frigate and its embarked aviation component. The event marked the fifth time a French naval unit received the distinction and the fourth time for a FREMM frigate. The Hook ’Em Award is a recognition dedicated to anti-submarine warfare performance within the European and Mediterranean maritime theater, and is awarded by the U.S. Navy's Sixth Fleet. The distinction was created in December 1975 by Vice Admiral Frederick C. Turner while serving as commander, to identify ships, submarines, aviation units, and allied forces demonstrating the highest level of operational effectiveness in detecting, classifying, tracking, and countering submarines.

Anti-submarine warfare constitutes a core mission of the Sixth Fleet because the Mediterranean basin historically hosts significant submarine traffic between the Atlantic Ocean, the Suez Canal, and the Black Sea. During the Cold War, NATO naval forces routinely tracked Soviet submarines transiting these maritime corridors. The award, therefore, functions as an operational benchmark measuring tactical proficiency, sensor integration, and sustained tracking capability in real maritime operations. The distinction is generally attributed on a quarterly basis by the commander of the Sixth Fleet to the naval unit considered to have achieved the most effective operational performance during the evaluation period.

Eligible recipients include U.S. Navy surface combatants, attack submarines, maritime patrol aircraft squadrons, helicopter detachments, and allied naval units operating in support of Sixth Fleet missions. The evaluation considers operational readiness, the ability to detect submarine contacts, the persistence of acoustic tracking, and coordination between surface ships, aircraft, and submarines operating as part of a task group. In multinational naval operations, foreign units regularly operate alongside U.S. forces, which explains why allied vessels have received the distinction on several occasions. Earlier French recipients include the Atlantique maritime patrol aircraft of the French Navy’s 21F flotilla in 1991; the task forces CTF-470 and CTF-473, along with the FREMM frigates Bretagne and Auvergne, in 2020; three French units, including the FREMM frigates Provence and Languedoc, in 2021; and French naval forces including Auvergne, Bretagne, Languedoc, and Provence vessels in 2022.

The award was widely used during the Cold War, before gradually disappearing after the early 1990s when naval priorities shifted toward expeditionary missions and regional conflicts. During the 1970s and 1980s, several U.S. Navy units received the Hook ’Em Award, including the nuclear attack submarine USS Tullibee (SSN-597) in 1977 for submarine tracking performance during Mediterranean patrols. Other recipients included the destroyer escort USS McCloy (FF-1038) and helicopter anti-submarine squadron HS-9 operating from aircraft carriers in the Mediterranean theater. The distinction remained inactive for nearly two decades before being reintroduced in 2016 by Admiral James G. Foggo III while commanding both the Sixth Fleet and U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa. The revival reflected renewed emphasis on submarine tracking operations in the Atlantic and Mediterranean, where modern diesel-electric submarines and nuclear submarines increasingly operate.

Since its reactivation, several NATO naval units have received the award during deployments involving anti-submarine exercises and operational patrols. The Aquitaine is the lead ship of the Aquitaine-class of FREMM multi-mission frigates operated by the French Navy and was designed primarily for anti-submarine warfare missions. Construction began in December 2007 at the Naval Group shipyard in Lorient, where the hull and superstructure were assembled from multiple structural blocks. The ship was launched on April 29, 2010, and conducted its first sea trials on April 18, 2011, before being delivered to the French Navy on November 23, 2012. Operational service began in December 2015 after completion of the training and operational preparation phases. The vessel carries the pennant number D650 and is based in Brest as part of the French Navy’s surface combatant force.

The frigate belongs to the FREMM program developed jointly by France and Italy to replace older frigates with vessels capable of performing anti-submarine, anti-surface, and land-attack missions. The program also incorporated automation and modular internal architecture in order to reduce crew size and operating costs. The frigate measures 142 meters in length with a beam of about 19.7 meters and a displacement exceeding 6,000 tonnes when fully loaded. Standard crew complement is about 108 sailors, including officers, non-commissioned officers, and enlisted personnel, with additional personnel embarked for helicopter operations and marine protection teams. Compared with previous French anti-submarine frigates such as the Georges Leygues-class, crew size was reduced through automation and centralized combat management systems.

The vessel operates using a combined diesel-electric and gas propulsion architecture known as CODLOG. Two electric motors powered by diesel generators drive the ship during low-speed operations, while a 32 MW gas turbine is used for high-speed transit. Electric propulsion allows the vessel to cruise silently at speeds up to 16 knots, while maximum speed reaches about 27.5 knots when the turbine is engaged. The propulsion system also allows endurance of about 45 days at sea and a range of about 6,000 nautical miles at 15 knots. The FREMM Aquitaine carries a sensor suite optimized for submarine detection and maritime surveillance operations. Its combat system includes the Thales Herakles multifunction radar operating in the S-band with detection ranges of about 250 kilometers against aircraft-sized targets.

Anti-submarine sensors include the UMS-4110 hull-mounted sonar used for shallow-water detection and the CAPTAS-4 towed-array sonar system deployed behind the ship. The CAPTAS-4 system consists of a variable-depth sonar body connected to a long hydrophone array and can be lowered to depths approaching 300 meters below the surface. Operating at very low acoustic frequencies, the system can detect quiet submarines over distances exceeding 100 kilometers when ocean conditions allow favorable sound propagation. Additional systems include radar electronic support measures, communication interception equipment, electronic countermeasures, anti-torpedo decoy launchers, and the SETIS combat management system, coordinating sensor data and weapons control.

The Aquitaine carries one 76 mm OTO-Melara naval gun capable of firing about 120 rounds per minute against surface or aerial targets. Anti-ship capability is provided by eight Exocet MM40 Block 3 or 3c missiles capable of striking targets beyond 180 kilometers. Air defense relies on sixteen Aster 15 missiles launched from vertical Sylver A43 cells designed to intercept aircraft and supersonic anti-ship missiles. The frigate also carries sixteen MdCN naval cruise missiles installed in Sylver A70 launch cells, allowing strikes against land targets at distances approaching 1,000 kilometers. Anti-submarine armament includes twin launchers firing MU90 Impact lightweight torpedoes. The ship operates an NH90 Caïman Marine helicopter equipped with FLASH dipping sonar, acoustic buoys, and MU90 torpedoes, extending the ship’s submarine detection radius and allowing coordinated tracking and engagement of underwater targets.

Written by Jérôme Brahy

Jérôme Brahy is a defense analyst and documentalist at Army Recognition. He specializes in naval modernization, aviation, drones, armored vehicles, and artillery, with a focus on strategic developments in the United States, China, Ukraine, Russia, Türkiye, and Belgium. His analyses go beyond the facts, providing context, identifying key actors, and explaining why defense news matters on a global scale.