French Navy takes first FDI frigate Amiral Ronarc’h enhancing 360 air and missile defense.

Naval Group delivered the first Defence and Intervention Frigate, Amiral Ronarc’h, to the French Navy in Brest on 17 October 2025 after sea trials and transfer from Lorient. The lead ship brings a digitally driven air and ASW suite into service, expanding NATO area defense capacity and France’s first-rank surface fleet.

France’s Ministry of the Armed Forces and Naval Group confirmed that Amiral Ronarc’h, hull number D660, was handed over in Brest on 17 October 2025, marking the operational debut of the five-ship FDI program. The milestone follows a September 19 arrival in the homeport after a Lorient departure, closing fourteen weeks of trials and ushering in fleet work-ups ahead of commissioning.  The ship’s fixed-panel Sea Fire AESA, Aster 15 and Aster 30 missiles, and a compact 4,500-ton design intended for blue-water and littoral tasks.
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The Amiral Ronarc’h frigate is designed for high-intensity, multi-domain operations (Picture source: Naval Group)

Built at Naval Group’s Lorient shipyard, Amiral Ronarc’h reflects the FDI design approach: a compact 4,500-ton frigate with oceanic endurance and a high-end sensor and effector suite. The fully digital AESA Sea Fire radar, with four fixed panels, provides air surveillance and missile guidance paired with Aster 15 and Aster 30 surface-to-air missiles. Anti-ship strike uses the Exocet MM40 Block 3C, while MU90 torpedoes and a complete sonar suite provide anti-submarine warfare. A 76 mm gun, two 20 mm Narwhal remote stations, and soft-kill decoys complete layered self-defense.

Propulsion is a CODAD arrangement of about 32 MW driving two controllable-pitch propellers, giving 27 knots and roughly 45 days’ endurance. The hull adopts an inverted bow for seakeeping and signature reduction. Aviation facilities support a 10-ton helicopter and VTOL drones. The crew is around 125 sailors plus an air detachment. Automation is intended to maintain high availability and control through-life costs. The internal architecture is modular to facilitate maintenance and upgrades.

In sensors and electronic warfare, the FDI carries an integrated suite. The PSIM module groups electromagnetic and radar sensors in a superstructure optimized for low observability. The acoustic segment combines a Kingklip Mk II hull sonar with a CAPTAS-4 Compact variable-depth sonar to extend detection in challenging waters. The SETIS 3.0 combat management system handles data fusion and fire control. A distinctive feature is a dual, redundant digital core made up of two virtualized data centers that provide cyber resilience, hot reconfiguration, and rapid capability insertion. CANTO countermeasures deployed via SYLENA launchers reinforce torpedo defense.

Amiral Ronarc’h is designed for high-intensity, multi-domain operations. Sea Fire’s fixed panels provide 360° coverage at high refresh rates against sea-skimming missiles, drone swarms, and complex raids. The Aster family enables local and area air defense. In the undersea domain, the hull sonar and CAPTAS-4 Compact support cooperative ASW with NH90 helicopters using dipping sonar and MU90 torpedoes. For surface action, Exocet MM40 Block 3C enables beyond-horizon engagement. Supported by a modern electronic warfare suite and soft-kill systems, the FDI can provide an air-defense bubble to a task group, conduct independent submarine prosecution, and maintain sea control in congested littorals as well as blue water.

The French variant fields 16 Aster 15/30 in Sylver A50 launchers, 8 Exocet MM40 Block 3C, a 76 mm gun, two 20 mm Narwhal stations, MU90 torpedo tubes, and CANTO countermeasures. The Hellenic variant increases area air defense with 32 Aster 30 B1 and adds a RAM launcher for point defense, while retaining the 76 mm gun, Exocet, MU90, and CANTO. This configuration meets requirements for the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean while remaining interoperable within NATO.

The lead-ship acceptance sets the pace for a Franco-Hellenic line. The French Navy is to receive five FDIs from the late 2020s into the early 2030s, while the Hellenic Navy will receive three units with an enhanced missile fit. Naval Group indicates an industrial flow able to produce up to two frigates per year. HS Kimon has already been at sea, and other units are in outfitting. The arrival in Brest in September, followed by the formal handover in October, marks the shift from trials to naval acceptance for D660.

The first FDI enters service as Europe rebuilds surface-combatant numbers amid heightened threats from the Atlantic to the Indo-Pacific. For France, the ship supports the objective of maintaining a balanced blue-water navy capable of carrier escort, support to the deterrent, and crisis response from the North Atlantic to the Mediterranean and beyond. For NATO, interoperable sensors and weapons standardized with allies increase air and missile defense capacity in task groups. For partners such as Greece, the shared supply chain and common combat system provide a multiplier for coalition maritime presence in the Eastern Mediterranean, where stand-off missiles, quiet submarines, and grey-zone tactics are routine. Amiral Ronarc’h is therefore not an isolated milestone but the opening step in a renewed European frigate tier designed for contested seas.