Multi-purpose frigates
US Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class T’ara Tripp
Both Languedoc and Alsace are multi-purpose frigates belonging to the FREMM family of warships.
As part of the FREMM initiative, or “European Multipurpose Frigate” project, the ships were developed by France and Italy. This led to the new generation of surface combatants known in France as the Aquitaine class and in Italy as the Bergamini class.
Initially, 27 FREMM frigates – 17 for France and 10 for Italy – were planned for development with three variants proposed: an anti-submarine variant, a multi-purpose variant and a land attack variant.
However, due to budget cuts and construction requirements, the French Navy reduced the proposed fleet to fewer than 10 ships and the land attack version of the frigate was canceled.
The French Navy currently has eight Aquitaine-class frigates. These include the lead ship FS Aquitaine, as well as FS Provence, FS Languedoc, FS Auvergne, FS Bretagne, FS Normandie, FS Alsace and FS Lorraine.
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