List of active French Navy ships

Naval ensign of France
Detail of Forbin, a modern frigate of the French Navy. The faceted appearance reduces radar cross-section for stealth.

This is a list of active French Navy ships currently in service. Complete and correct as of September 2013.[1][2][3]

The French Navy consists of the 84 vessel strong Force d'action navale (Naval action force) and the 10 submarines of the Forces sous-marines (Submarine force). Primary assets include 1 aircraft carrier, 3 amphibious assault ships, 1 amphibious transport dock, 4 air defence destroyers, 6 anti-submarine frigates, and 11 light frigates. The submarine force consists of 6 fleet submarines and 4 ballistic missile submarines. To support the Force d'Action Navale at sea, the French Navy uses 4 light replenishment oilers. In addition to the above vessels and submarines, there are 7 ocean tugboats and 12 schoolships.

The French Navy does not use the term "destroyer"; thus, some large ships of the first rank (like Horizon) are designated "frigates", though they are registered as destroyers (with hull numbers "Dxxx").

Forces sous-marines (Submarines)

All submarines of the French Navy are nuclear-powered submarines.

Class Picture Type Boats Displacement Note
Submarines (10 in Service)
Triomphant-class Ballistic missile submarine (SSBN) S616 Triomphant
S617 Téméraire
S618 Vigilant
S619 Terrible 		14,335 tonnes
Rubis-class Fleet submarine (SSN) S601 Rubis
S602 Saphir
S603 Casabianca
S604 Émeraude
S605 Améthyste
S606 Perle 		2,660 tonnes

Bâtiments de combat (Warships)

Main article: Force d'action navale

Aircraft carriers

Class Picture Type Ships Displacement Note
Aircraft carriers (1 in Service)
Aircraft carrier R91 Charles de Gaulle 42,000 tonnes To be inactive from 2015 to 2018 due to overhaul.[4]

Amphibious warfare ships

Class Picture Type Ships Displacement Note
Amphibious warfare ships (4 in Service)
Mistral-class Amphibious assault ship (LHD) L9013 Mistral
L9014 Tonnerre
L9015 Dixmude 		21,000 tonnes
Foudre-class Amphibious transport dock (LPD) L9012 Siroco 12,000 tonnes Decommission confirmed as per the 2013 White Paper to leave service in June 2015.[5][6]
Landing ships (2 in Service)
BATRAL class landing ship Landing ship tank (LST) L9032 Dumont D'Urville
L9034 La Grandière 		1,330 tonnes To be replaced by 3 EEZ support vessels (B2M) from 2016.[7]

Destroyers

Class Picture Type Ships Displacement Note
Destroyers (10 in Service)
Horizon-class Air-defence destroyer D620 Forbin
D621 Chevalier Paul 		7,050 tonnes
Aquitaine-class Anti-submarine destroyer D650 Aquitaine 6,000 tonnes Confirmed: 7 more to be built.
Cassard-class Air-defence destroyer D614 Cassard
D615 Jean Bart 		4,500 tonnes
Georges Leygues-class Anti-submarine destroyer D642 Montcalm
D643 Jean de Vienne
D644 Primauguet
D645 La Motte Picquet
D646 Latouche-Tréville 		4,500 tonnes

Frigates

Class Picture Type Ships Displacement Note
Frigates (11 in Service)
La Fayette-class Light stealth frigate F710 La Fayette
F711 Surcouf
F712 Courbet
F713 Aconit
F714 Guépratte 		3,600 tonnes
Floréal-class Light surveillance frigate F730 Floréal
F731 Prairial
F732 Nivôse
F733 Ventôse
F734 Vendémiaire
F735 Germinal 		2,950 tonnes Nivôse is currently immobilised in dock after serious damage from an engine room fire.[8]

Avisos

Class Picture Type Ships Displacement Note
Avisos (9 in Service)
D'Estienne d'Orves-class Aviso F789 Lieutenant de vaisseau Le Hénaff
F790 Lieutenant de vaisseau Lavallée
F791 Commandant L'Herminier
F792 Premier-Maître L'Her
F793 Commandant Blaison
F794 Enseigne de vaisseau Jacoubet
F795 Commandant Ducuing
F796 Commandant Birot
F797 Commandant Bouan 		1,250 tonnes Used in an offshore patrol capacity.

Mine countermeasure vessels

Class Picture Type Ships Displacement Note
Mine countermeasure vessels (18 in Service)
Eridan-class Minehunter M641 Eridan
M642 Cassiopée
M643 Andromède
M644 Pégase
M645 Orion
M646 Croix du sud
M647 Aigle
M648 Lyre
M650 Sagittaire
M652 Céphée
M653 Capricorne		 615 tonnes
Vulcain-class Support vessel M611 Vulcain
A613 Achéron
M614 Styx
M622 Pluton 		490 tonnes For use by clearance divers.
Antarès-class Sonar towing vessel M770 Antarès
M771 Altaïr
M772 Aldébaran 		340 tonnes

Patrol vessels

Class Picture Type Ships Displacement Note
Patrol vessels (13 in Service)
Offshore patrol ship P681 Albatros 2,800 tonnes Will be a decommissioned in August 2015, to be replaced in October 2017 by an icebreaker funded by IPEV and TAAF but manned by the French Navy.[9]
Gowind-class Offshore Patrol ship P725 Adroit 1,450 tonnes On lease to the French Navy, will be returned to DCNS in summer 2015.[10]
Lapérouse-class Patrol boat P675 Arago 980 tonnes An ex hydrographic survey vessel.
Patrol boat P740 Fulmar 680 tonnes An ex trawler.
L'Audacieuse-class Patrol boat P684 La Capricieuse
P686 La Glorieuse
P687 La Gracieuse
P688 La Moqueuse 		480 tonnes La Capricieuse and La Gracieuse based in French Guiana will be replaced by two new light patrol vessels in 2016-2017.[11]
Flamant-class Patrol boat P676 Flamant
P677 Cormoran
P678 Pluvier 		390 tonnes
Athos-class Patrol boat A712 Athos
A713 Aramis 		105 tonnes To be retired under 2014 budget cuts. May be transferred to the Gendarmerie Maritime to replace patrol vessel Glaive.[12]

Note: In addition to the above vessels, the Maritime Gendarmerie (coast guard of France) operate a number of patrol vessels. They fall under the command structure of the French Navy.

Bâtiments de soutien (Auxiliaries)

Replenishment ships

Class Picture Type Ships Displacement Note
Replenishment ships (4 in Service)
Durance class Replenishment oiler (light) A607 Meuse
A608 Var
A630 Marne
A631 Somme 		17,900 tonnes Marne, Somme and Var are Command and Replenishment Ships; Meuse will be decommissioned under 2015 budget cuts.[5]

Experimentation ships

Class Picture Type Ships Displacement Note
Experimentation ships (4 in Service)
Satellite and missile tracking A601 Monge 21,040 tonnes
Electromagnetic research A759 Dupuy de Lôme 3,600 tonnes On operations she serves in the role of signals intelligence.
Diving support A645 Alizé 1,600 tonnes In support of DGSE combat divers. Also used as an experimentation ship to test new equipment and diving procedures.
Mine-warfare experimentation A785 Thétis 1,050 tonnes

Survey vessels

Class Picture Type Ships Displacement Note
Survey vessels (5 in Service)
Oceanographic survey Pourquoi pas ? 6,600 tonnes Shared between IFREMER (55%) and the French navy (45%), manned by a civilian crew.[13]
Oceanographic survey A758 Beautemps-Beaupré 3,292 tonnes
Lapérouse class Hydrographic survey A791 Lapérouse
A792 Borda
A793 Laplace 		980 tonnes

Ocean tugboats

Class Picture Type Ships Displacement Note
Ocean tugboats (7 in Service)
Rari class Tug supply vessel A635 Revi 1,450 tonnes
Malabar class Oceangoing tug A664 Malabar
A669 Tenace 		1,440 tonnes
UT507 class Oceangoing tug Abeille Flandre
Abeille Languedoc 		1,500 tonnes Chartered
UT515 class Oceangoing tug Abeille Bourbon
Abeille Liberté 		4,000 tonnes Chartered

Training vessels

Class Picture Type Ships Displacement Note
Training vessels (12 in Service)
Leopard class Training vessel A748 Léopard
A749 Panthère
A750 Jaguar
A751 Lynx
A752 Guépard
A753 Chacal
A754 Tigre
A755 Lion 		470 tonnes
Glycine class Training vessel A770 Glycine
A771 Églantine 		295 tonnes Navigational training.
Paimpolaise class Sail training vessel A649 Étoile
A650 Belle-Poule 		275 tonnes Schooner

Other support ships

For a complete list of Bâtiments de soutien (Auxiliaries) see Bâtiments de soutien at the official Marine Nationale website.

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ "Forces sous-marines" (in French). defense.gouv.fr. 12 March 2012. Retrieved 19 November 2014.
  2. ↑ "Liste des bâtiments de combat de la Marine nationale par unité" (in French). defense.gouv.fr. 19 November 2014. Retrieved 19 November 2014.
  3. ↑ "Liste des bâtiments de soutien par unité" (in French). defense.gouv.fr. 21 October 2014. Retrieved 19 November 2014.
  4. ↑ "Charles de Gaulle future refit". naval-technology.com. Retrieved 19 November 2014.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Défense : Le Drian détaille les 7 500 postes supprimés dans l'armée". francetvinfo.fr. 15 October 2014. Retrieved 19 November 2014.
  6. ↑ Brazilian study recommends procuring Siroco LPD
  7. ↑ "PIRIOU and DCNS to Deliver Three EEZ Support Vessels for the French Navy". defense-update.com. 9 January 2014. Retrieved 27 April 2015.
  8. ↑ "La frégate Nivôse sérieusement endommagée par un incendie". Mer et Marine (in French). 6 October 2014. Retrieved 19 November 2014.
  9. ↑ "Un nouveau navire logistique pour les Australes et l’Antarctique" (in French). meretmarine.com. 12 February 2015. Retrieved 12 February 2015.
  10. ↑ "Finalement, la Marine nationale va garder le patrouilleur hauturier Adroit plus longtemps que prévu" (in French). opex360.com. 28 October 2015. Retrieved 19 November 2014.
  11. ↑ Lert, Frédéric (January 8, 2015). "France orders two Caribbean patrol vessels". IHS Jane's Defence Weekly. Retrieved 10 January 2015.
  12. ↑ "La marine française se séparera de cinq bâtiments l’an prochain". Mer et Marine (in French). 17 October 2014. Retrieved 19 November 2014.
  13. ↑ Forces de surface - Les bâtiments hydrographiques et océanographiques , defense.gouv.fr, Retrieved 28 June 2014

External links