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Naval
Forces News - France |
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French Navy Aquitaine FREMM Frigate succesfully fires its first MBDA
Aster 15 surface-to-air missile |
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On
Monday, 4th February 2013, first of class Aquitaine,
the newest class of frigate in the French Navy’s fleet,
has successfully fired its first MBDA Aster 15 air defence missile in
the Mediterranean from the DGA (French Procurement Agency) Missile test
centre. The FREMM is the third type of ship of the French Navy equipped
with Aster missiles after the Charles de Gaulle nuclear powered Aircraft
Carrier (CVN) and the Forbin class air defense Destroyers (DDG). |
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 Aquitaine Frigate in the Mediterranean (Picture: French Navy) |
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The firing took place as part of the Military Specifications Verification
procedure of the Frigate, a further step towards its admission to Active
Service in the French Navy. "This firing has allowed the French
Navy to validate concretely all stages of the launch of an Aster 15
missile from a FREMM" says CV Benedict Rouvière, Aquitaine's
Commanding Officer. "The firing sequence encompasses the complete
process from the loading of the missile until the actual destruction
of the target covering the key phases of the target detection by radar
and the target engagement by the ship’s combat system operators." |
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This
test firing was prepared and conducted in cooperation by the crew of
the Aquitaine and teams from the DGA, DCNS, MBDA and OCCAR (Organisation
for Joint Armament Cooperation). For all of them this success marks
a new step in demonstrating the capabilities of the FREMM. "The
validation of this Aster firing provides the Aquitaine with the fundamental
capability of its auto-defence system," adds CV Rouvière. Designed and built by DCNS, FREMM type Frigates are heavily armed: MM40 Blk III Exocet anti-ship missiles, Aster anti-air missiles and MU90 torpedoes. The first nine frigates will predominantly conduct anti-submarine warfare missions, while the last two frigates, specialised in anti-aircraft warfare, are designed to protect a carrier or amphibious battle group against aircraft and missiles. All FREMM can also accomodate the Caïman Marine helicopter (NH90 NFH), as well as Special Forces and their equipment. From: French Navy |
French Navy Aquitaine FREMM Frigate succesfully fires its first MBDA Aster 15 surface-to-air missile
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