The information was disclosed on X (formerly known as Twitter) by CECMED which is the French Navy’s operational command for the Mediterranean & black sea maritime zones.
“Operation | The FREMM DA Alsace changes theater after having patrolled in the Eastern Mediterranean: The vessel crosses the Suez canal to join the Red Sea under operational control of ALINDIEN. The objective is to ensure maritime security & freedom of navigation.”
CECMED
ALINDIEN is the French Joint Forces Command for the Indian Ocean area. Frigate Alsace may be joining another FREMM Frigate, Languedoc, in the Red Sea. Languedoc which is in the Red Sea since early December successfully intercepted two UAVs on 9 December. This was followed by another UAV intercept on 11 December, as the frigate was protecting M/T Strinda, a Norwegian-flagged tanker.
The news comes as attacks on merchant ships and warships in the Red Sea and surrounding waters are ongoing. France is taking part in Operation ‘Prosperity Guardian’, the international community’s collective response to the crisis, but its assets remain under French command. France is not taking part in the US and UK strikes in Yemen.
Unlike Languedoc which is an ASW-focused multirole frigate (fitted with “just” 16x Aster 15 surface to air missiles), Alsace is an air defense-focused multirole frigate (sporting 32x cells for both Aster 15 missiles and its longer range version Aster 30) known as “FREMM DA”.
It is not clear yet if, by dispatching the air defense FREMM to the Red Sea, France is reinforcing its assets in the area or if Alsace is simply relieving Languedoc. Contacted by Naval News, ALINDIEN referred us to the office of the Joint Chief of Staffs of the French military (Chef d’état-major des armées – EMA). EMA didn’t directly answer the specifics of Alsace‘s deployment to the Red Sea.
EMA did confirm that Jacques Chevallier is set to transit back into the Mediterranean via the Suez Canal. Jacques Chevallier is the first of a new generation of supply ship for the French Navy. It is currently conducting a long duration shakedown cruise ahead of its commissioning. It recently resupplied a Japanese destroyer in the Arabian Sea:
About FREMM DA Alsace
The FREMM DA Alsace was launched April 18, 2019 at the Naval Group shipyard of Lorient thirteen months after its keel laying. It was commissioned with the French Navy in November 202. It is the ninth FREMM frigate built by Naval Group and the seventh one for the French Navy. The FREMM DA program started in 2008. The two vessels in this “sub-class” of the Aquitaine-class FREMM, Alsace and Lorraine, are replacing the two Cassard-class (Type F70 AA) frigates and their ageing SM-1 surface to air missiles.
While the FREMM DA retains the same anti-submarine warfare (ASW) capabilities as earlier vessels of the Aquitaine-class (with CAPTAS-4 and UMS 4110 CL sonars), its so called “increased capabilities in air defense” consists in a few notable changes:
- The Thales Herakles multi-function radar is more powerful, has more transmitter modules, additional wave-forms and search modes for long range air defense
- A Thales STIR EO MK 2 fire control radar replaces the Najir by Sagem (providing better AAW and ASuW capabilities to the 76mm main gun)
- Reinforced bridge structure to accommodate the extra weight of the above
- 4x Sylver A50 vertical launch systems for a total of 32x MBDA Aster 15 or 30 surface to air missiles
- Additional communication systems and antennas
- 3x additional consoles in the CIC (the global arrangement inside the CIC has been modified accordingly) for a total of 20 aboard the ship
- Modifications to the SETIS combat management system with specific air defense functions
- Additional berthing
According to the French Navy’s FREMM program manager, the FREMM DA main mission consists in area air defense of major Marine Nationale units such as the Charles de Gaulle aircraft-carrier and the three Mistral-class LHDs, within a carrier-strike group or as part of an amphibious group.
To learn more about Alsace, check out our interview with her former commanding officer: