Ramona Adams
France’s defense procurement agency has named DCNS and Thales as prime contractors on a potential $4.1 billion contract to build five intermediate frigates for the French navy, Defense News reported Monday.
Pierre Tran writes DCNS and Thales will respectively serve as shipbuilder and electronics provider of Belharra-class frigates under the contract.
The first delivery will occur in 2023, Tran reported.
French defense minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said the first frigate of the Belharra class is scheduled to enter service in 2025 and will work to protect French maritime operations against threats such as submarines, the report stated.
DCNS said Friday it estimates the construction of a Belharra frigate will require two million hours of work, including 300,000 hours for design efforts.
France’s future frigates will feature Thales-built Sea Fire four flat antenna radar and MBDA-made Aster 30 missiles, DCNS added.
The frigate’s information processing systems will be updated incrementally to adapt to operational and technological changes over a nearly 40-year period, DCNS noted.
