DCNS delivers multimission frigate Mohammed VI to Royal Moroccan Navy

DCNS has handed over the multimission frigate Mohammed VI to the Royal Moroccan Navy on time, on budget and with performance as promised. This is the second vessel of this type designed and built by DCNS in a production run of 12 ships for the French and Moroccan Navies. The Mohammed VI benefits from the same technological and production innovations as the FREMM frigates for the French Navy. The Royal Moroccan Navy will acquire the ship’s weapon systems and munitions directly from its own selected suppliers.

Thanks to their versatility and manoeuvrability, FREMM frigates meet the operational needs of navies all over the world. They are designed to deal with all types of air, surface, subsurface and land-based threats, and are amongst the most technologically advanced and competitively priced on the world market.

“Aside from her exception capabilities, the Mohammed VI is a very special warship for us because Morocco was the first country after France to order a FREMM frigate designed and built by DCNS," said Patrick Boissier, Chairman and CEO of DCNS. “ We are deeply honoured by this mark of confidence particularly as the Mohammed VI will be the Royal Moroccan Navy’s biggest and most powerful warship when it enters service.”

The agreement between Morocco and France was for a FREMM multimission frigate optimised for anti-submarine warfare. The ‘first-cut’ ceremony took place on 12 December 2008 and construction took a total of five years. The ship was floated out of its construction dock on 14 September 2011. The sea trials undertaken since April this year have confirmed that the Mohammed VI fully satisfies the target levels of performance.

Members of the Royal Moroccan Navy crew assigned to the Mohammed VI participated in the sea trials to acquaint themselves with shipboard operations. Working in tandem with the French Navy crew, the Moroccan personnel took part in activities ranging from bridge and propulsion watchkeeping to safety exercises and platform management. The Moroccan crew had previously familiarised themselves with the FREMM platform management systems through simulator training at DCNS’s Lorient shipyard and the Le Mourillon centre near Toulon.

The French FREMM programme calls for twelve ships – eleven for the French Navy and one for the Royal Moroccan Navy.

DCNS delivered the Aquitaine, the first FREMM multimission frigate, to the French Navy in November 2012.

The second-of-type was delivered to the Royal Moroccan Navy today, 30 January 2014, in compliance with the contractual provisions and has been named Mohammed VI.

Five FREMM frigates are currently under construction at the Group’s Lorient shipyard:
• Third-of-type FREMM frigate Normandie began her sea trials in October 2013 and is scheduled for delivery to the French Navy later this year.
• FREMM frigate Provence was floated out on 18 September 2013.
• The fifth- and sixth-of-type are at different stages of assembly.
• The first-cut ceremony for the seventh-of-type took place in late 2013.

FREMM technical data
• Length overall: 142 m
• Beam: 20 m
• Displacement (approx.): 6,000 tonnes
• Max. speed: 27 knots
• Complement: 108 (including helicopter crew)
• Accommodation: 145 men and women
• Range: 6,000 nm at 15 knots.

Mohammed VI combat system
• one 76-mm main gun
• equipped to deploy 8 Exocet MM40 anti-ship missiles
• equipped to deploy 19 anti-submarine torpedoes
• equipped to deploy 16 Aster anti-air missiles.

Link to FREMM Frigate technical datasheet