French Navy press release
The Var returned to Toulon in June after being deployed on the Clemenceau 21 mission. For four months, the ship was part of the Carrie Strike Group (CSG) led by the Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier. During this mission, it carried out more than 50 replenishments at sea, including the Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier, as well as the foreign ships that took part in the mission.
The BCR ‘Var’ was comissionned in 1983. Its main mission was to provide logistical and material support to the ships deployed: fuel, water, food, ammunition, medicine and spare parts. The Var was the third of the five Durance-class replenishment tankers. For many years it was home to the Admiral Commanding the Indian Ocean Maritime Zone (ALINDIEN).
The ship has participated in numerous missions, including supplying the force during Operation Harmattan in Libya in 2011, commanding Combined Task Force 150 in the Indian Ocean in 2015 and participating in Operation Hamilton in Syria in 2018.
To succeed the BCRs, four new replenishment ships – also called Forces supply ship, Bâtiment Ravitailleur de Forces (BRF) – will be commissioned between 2023 and 2029. This renewal is necessary to maintain France’s strategic autonomy and will enable France to conduct long-term operations. The BRFs have a greater capacity to carry cargo and fuel and will provide support and back-up missions for deployed forces.
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About BRF / Chevallier-class Replenishment Tanker
The construction of the first of four new replenishment tankers / supply vessels for the French navy (Marine Nationale) started in May 2020 at the Chantiers de l’Atlantique shipyard in cooperation with Naval Group. The future vessels will be known as the Jacques Chevallier-class.
Chantiers de l’Atlantique and Naval Group were awarded a contract for the construction of four supply vessels in January 2019. The vessels are set to be delivered between the end of 2022 and 2029. It is part of a Franco-Italian program led by OCCAR (Organisation Conjointe de Coopération en matière d’Armement – Organisation for Joint Armament Co-operation), on behalf of the French defense procurement agency (DGA) and its Italian counterpart NAVARM. As such, the design of the French BRF design is based on the Italian Navy LSS (Vulcano-class) designed by Fincantieri.
Main characteristics of the BRF vessels
Gross tonnage: 28,700 GRT
Displacement at full load: 31,000 tonnes
Overall length: 194 m
Overall width: 27.60 m
Crew capacity: 190 people (including 130 crew members and capacity for 60 passengers)
Total deadweight: 14,870 tonnes
Freight volume: 13,000 m3
Total installed capacity: 24 MW
Artillery: 40 mm guns
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