The French Navy's newest warship recently departed on her initial long duration deployment, which would provide an opportunity to test her capabilities in the open sea.
The navy said the defence and intervention frigate (frégate de défense et d'intervention; FDI) Amiral Ronarc'h will spend several months in the North Sea, the North Atlantic Ocean, and the Mediterranean Sea for her military capabilities to be validated under conditions nearly similar to those encountered during actual operations.
The ship will be commissioned into French Navy service following the completion of the deployment, which is expected in the middle of 2026.
Like her FDI sisters, Amiral Ronarc'h was built by French defence shipbuilder the Naval Group. She is capable of anti-air warfare, anti-surface warfare, anti-submarine warfare, and insertion and extraction of special operations forces.
The ship can operate alone or as part of a naval task force and can be deployed long-term over long distances.
In French Navy service, the FDIs will complement the FREMM or Aquitaine-class frigates and replace the La Fayette-class ships that have been in operation since the 1980s.
