Frégates Européennes Multi-Missions (FREMM)
European Multi-Mission Frigate
FREMM Program
This program underscores the close cooperation between the French and Italian naval industries. Together, these two countries are developing and building warships which are among the most sophisticated in their fleets. Moreover, a new profile of the European naval industry is emerging: strong industrial cooperation, ranged around the major players.
The FREMM programme has been drawn up with the same partners as the “Orizzonte” program; this comprises the construction of twenty seven multi-mission vessels, ten of which for the Italian Navy, to be built at Fincantieri’s shipyards in Riva Trigoso and Muggiano. The Horizon Program experience made it possible to create common tools and to develop conditions favorable to the launch of the new European Multi-Mission Frigate (FREMM) program: i.e. its necessary completion (both on the contractual and industrial levels), a pragmatic approach to ensure its execution, and a reigning attitude of confidence between the two partners.
Thus, during the summer of 2002, inspired by the French and Italian Defense Ministries, a new cooperative effort concerning Multi-Mission Frigates was launched and finalized at the end of 2002 by a defining contract; then in October 2004 by the Program’s confirmation by both Ministries during Euronaval 2004.
At the Italian-French Summit on 07 November 2002, the French and Italian defense ministers signed a declaration that made official the cooperation between the two countries on multi-mission European frigates (FREMM). This joint declaration also concerned the definition, development, construction and support service on the common Franco-Italian frigate.
Their combined effort, known as the FREMM program, was concentrated on the construction of a fleet of 27 ships -- 17 frigates for the French Navy and 10 frigates for the Italian Navy. The grand total for the fleet of 27 could cost between 945 million to 1.22 billion euros. Initially it was planned that by 2008 the first batch of frigates would be delivered, with an expectation of all ships being completed by 2017. The FREMM program represented the longest production run in Europe since the Second World War. The FREMM program represents the largest European naval program of all time. To be precise, within 15 years, 27 frigates were to be built, 10 of which for the Italian Navy (6 General Purpose type and 4 for Anti Submarine Warfare), the construction of which has been assigned by OSN to Fincantieri for the platform and Finmeccanica for the combat system. The Italian First of Class was to be delivered to the Italian Navy in 2011.
The prime contractors are the French firm Armaris (joint subsidiary of DCN and Thales) and its Italian partner Orrizante Sistemi Navale. The prime contractors finalized their offers as of June 2004 and then left the field open for decisions on subcontractors. All contract signing were handled by the DGA (Délégation Générale pour l'Armement), the French procurement agency. In addition, the creation of ARMARIS in 2002, as a joint venture of DCN and Thales, created the industrial and commercial conditions favorable to the realization of transnational industrial cooperation. At the same time, the setting up of ORIZZONTE SISTEMI NAVALI in Italy between FINCANTIERI and FINMECCANICA in 2003 permitted a complementary approach within the Italian industry. ARMARIS and ORIZZONTE SISTEMI NAVALI had from the very beginning played the role of co-prime-contractors in this program.
The 8 first French frigates were registered by the Military Expenditure Act of 2002. The first draft budget in France was in the winter of 2003. The financial strategists in the Rue Saint Dominique had launched a tender among banks with the heading "operating lease". Clearly, the FREMM were purchased and leased the time of repayment, banks becoming owners. This option provoked a sharp dispute and was finally rejected by the European Commission. In autumn 2004 the Ministry unveiled plan B in case a "wealth acquisition deferred payment," a barbarous name for a very simple system: A consortium of banks and industrial would buy the ships that State paid for at time of delivery. The idea was interesting, but the interest was deemed excessive by the State, which finally decided to abandon the "innovative financing" to return to conventional financing and a lot of uncertainties. There was, in effect, no payment appropriations provided for FREMM in the 2005 budget in France.
Initially, France anticipated that four frigates of the Horizon type would be made, but these vessels, armed and extremely powerful, have also been very expensive. Delivered by DCNS in 2007 and 2008 (and put into service shortly thereafter), Forbin and Chevalier Paul cost to themselves alone, 2.7 billion euros (design and construction of platforms and weapons systems included). Due to a lack of funds, their two sister ships were abandoned. Since 2005, DCNS engineers worked on an adaptation of the FREMM to air defense missions. This solution is less costly, led to FREDA as the 10th and 11th FREMM frigates. The design of these new vessels uses the same platform as the 9 ASM oriented ships. The equipment of air defense frigates are more expensive (more powerful radar, missiles Aster 30). These first eight frigates in the series (Aquitaine, Normandie, Provence, Bretagne, Auvergne, Languedoc, Alsace, Lorraine) were ordered in November 2005. The last frigate was due for delivery before 2020. The financial value of this Program is 8 billion euros, and the first warships will be delivered by 2010, which makes the FREMM Program the most important European naval defense program to take place in Europe in the next two decades, and also the most important in terms of innovative technologies.
Other European countries are likely to associate themselves with the FREMM program since total European needs have been estimated at about 40 frigates. It is clear that programs like this will allow ARMARIS and ORIZZONTE to offer an especially innovative, modern and costefficient product for the export market. ARMARIS and ORIZZONTE are looking forward to perennial cooperative structures, like the OCCAR, the Organization for Joint Armament Cooperation (Organisation conjointe de coopération en matière d’armement) and the European Defense Agency to facilitate a shared commitment towards ambitious and long-term projects.
As of February 2008 anticipated orders were 28 ships: (17 France, 10 Italy, 1 Morocco). The new Sakozy team came into office in France in 2007, launching reflections on a new White Paper on Defense. At that time, the Navy was perceived as richly endowed with its new frigates Horizon's new nuclear submarine attack, the fourth submarine ballistic missile, and other building projects. It was therefore decided to reduce the number of ships to 9 frigates to replace the anti-submarine types F67 (Tourville) and F70 (ASM Georges Leygues). The FREMM version Action Vers la Terre (AVT - Action Towards Earth) was abandoned. In accordance with the conclusions of the White Paper, there will be 9 FREMM All ASM version (one more from the original draft - ASM 8 and 9 AVT). But the series will be extended by two units.
DCNS signed an order supplement for three new vessels under the European FREMM multimission frigate program. This brought France’s total order to 11 vessels, scheduled for delivery from 2012 to 2022. Contract confirmation was announced 08 October 2009 by the French Minister for Defence, Mr Hervé Morin, at the production launch of France’s second multimission frigate in the series, the Normandie. This amendment to the FREMM multimission frigate contract called for the development and construction of three additional vessels, two in air defence configuration, as well as capability enhancements for all frigates in the series and a delivery schedule of one vessel every 10 months. It also called for operational support for these state-of-the-art vessels in their first years of service.
With one vessel delivered every 10 months, the program represents a significant increase in workload for DCNS and its industrial partners. The Brittany region of France will be the main beneficiaries in terms of employment. The FREMM project provides 3 million hours of employment each year and almost 50 million hours over the duration of the programme, which runs from 2006 to 2022. Each frigate is equivalent to the construction of two Millau viaducts.
When the Frégate Européen MultiMission (FREMM) program was launched, a total 17 ships were planned by France at a unit price of 388.5 million euros ($574 million), totaling 8.51 billion euros. Under financial pressure, the government cut the FREMM orders to 11 and dropped a planned surface attack version. Even at the reduced number of ships, DCNS describes the FREMM as Europe's largest naval shipbuilding program. Italy's FREMM program comprises 10 frigates. The two air defense ships replace two planned Horizon frigates, leaving the French Horizon fleet at the present two units, the Forbin and Chevalier Paul.
On 4 February 2008 the ceremony of the cutting of the first metal for Bergamini, GP version, took place in Riva Trigoso in the presence of institutional and military. The delivery of the ship was scheduled for early 2012. The delivery of the ship is scheduled for early 2012. The next 4 ships will be the type ASW while the last 5 will be the model GP. The next 4 ships will be the type ASW while the last 5 will be the model GP.
On 27 March 2008 was announced by Thales the sale to Italian Navy of sonar for the second tranche of FREMM frigate (4 unity), which the last 3 Variable Deep Sonar. On 27 March 2008 was announced by Thales to the sale of Italian Navy sonar for the second tranche of FREMM frigate (4 Unity), the last 3 Which Variable Deep Sonar. Thales also has a contract for eight bow-mounted 4110 BMS units for the French Navy, as part of a larger order for 14, with the other six going to Italy, the Thales executive said. Thales also has a contract for eight bow-mounted 4110 BMS units for the French Navy, as part of a larger order for 14, with the other six going to Italy. On September 30, 2009, the Organization for Joint Cooperation in Armaments (JACS) reported, on behalf of the General Delegation for Armaments (DGA), DCNS at the command of a frigate in Multi-version Anti-submarine warfare (ASW) and two multi-mission frigates version of Air Defense (FREDA). This acquisition brought to eleven the number of FREMM ordered for the French Navy, eight frigates having already been ordered in November 2005. The Franco-Italian program provides for the delivery of 21 frigates for the 2 countries. At that time, the French budget was 7 billion euros, with spares but without maintenance in operational condition. The bill is large compared to the original contract. The latter, reported November 16, 2005, focused on 17 FREMM a total cost of 6.5 billion euros, studies included. With six boats less, how can France pay 500 million euros more? In 2005, the FREMM would not only replace the current nine anti-submarine frigates, but also the nine type A69 avisos. The idea was to renew these resources by a single multi-purpose building, built in large numbers and with a production rate very high. At the time, the MoD stated that the first 8 frigates would be delivered between 2011 and 2015. The scenario did not happen, however, as expected, primarily to funding problems. Export sales are more than possible as the FREMM consortium of DCNS, Finmeccanica, and Fincantieri was competing with other French (DCNS Lafayette Class variants), Spanish (Navantia’s AEGIS frigates), and Russian offerings in the global defense market.
Greece started bilateral talks with France to buy six FREMM frigates in 2009, in a potential deal is worth 2.5 billion euros ($3.45 billion). French warship manufacturer DCNS conceded in early 2010 that Greece's debt problems had dashed hopes of landing a contract to supply the Hellenic Navy with 6 FREMM frigates. "The debt crisis obviously complicates the picture," a DCNS official told Jane's on 22 February 2010. "Talks are still going on but we now see little chance of a positive outcome in the foreseeable future." Earlier in 2010 a senior DCNS official said that Greece was the strongest prospect for a sale worth an estimated EUR2.2 billion (USD2.9 billion), Deputy Defence Minister Panos Beglitis told Reuters on 10 February 2010 that Greece will go ahead with the purchase of the six FREMM frigates from France, despite its economic woes. "We will carry out the previous government's deal to purchase six Fremm frigates," Panos Beglitis said in a statement to Reuters. DCNS has completed the sale to Morocco of a multi-mission frigate FREMM for an amount estimated at 470 million euros. The Shipyard Group (since January 2008) and Rabat (march 2008) have initialed the agreement, which must be formally announced at a Franco-Moroccan scheduled 18 April 2008 in the presence of Prime Minister François Fillon. As anticipated, the rate of production, apart from the prototype and the Moroccan FREMM interposed between the first and second French frigate, will be on ship every 10 months. The newsletter Maghreb Confidential revealed the visit of Nicolas Sarkozy to Algeria in November 2007 paved the way for a huge arms contract for the purchase by Algiers of four copies of the FREMM frigate . But on September 18, 2009 Asharq Al-Awsat reported that starting in 2011 Algeria will receive warships equipped with modern missiles following the signing of Italy of a contract of € 4 billion. This contract replaced a similar agreement with France that Algeria has decided to cancel because of negotiations between Paris and Rabat to sell FREMM frigates. A high level delegation of the Algerian Ministry of Defense was in Italy to inspect the shipyard where the 6 frigates would be built that Algeria had requestedr after canceling a similar agreement with France. Saudi Arabia is deciding to order replacements for three classes of frigate, corvette and fast attack craft (FAC) dating from the early 1980s. A requirement for up to eight new ships is anticipated, with the Franco-Italian FREMM frigate and the United States' Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) designs under consideration. The total price tag could reach US$6 billion. Saudi Assistant Defence Minister for Military Affairs Prince Khaled Bin Sultan Bin Abdulaziz received Delegate of the French Presidency and International Development Director at the French arms agency Direction Générale de l’Armement (DGA) Jacques de Lajugie in his office in Riyadh on February 17, 2010. Discussions were reported to include Saudi purchases of FREMM Frigates. According to the Brazilian daily newspaper Folha de São Paulo, the Italian and Brazilian governments could conclude a far-sighted agreement for the sale of FREMM frigates. For the two governments, it is a question of discussing means of rebalancing a qualified alliance with France. Italy maintains very strong bonds historically with Brazil, taking into account in particular the presence of an important Italian community in the south of the country. President Lula and Prime-Minister Berlusconi would thus benefit from a forthcoming meeting to conclude the purchase in Italy of 10 ships intended for the Brazilian navy: FREMM frigates, patrol craft and a multi-uses support ship.
