French aviso Commandant Blaison

Commandant Blaison
History
France
Name	Commandant Blaison
Namesake	Georges Louis Nicolas Blaison
Builder	Arsenal de Lorient, Lorient
Laid down	15 November 1979
Launched	7 March 1981
Commissioned	28 April 1982
Decommissioned	Expected, 2027
Homeport	Brest [1]
Identification	Callsign: FABL Pennant number: F793
Status	Active
General characteristics
Class & type	D'Estienne d'Orves-class aviso
Displacement	1,100  t (1,100 long tons) standard 1,270 t (1,250 long tons) full load
Length	80 m (262 ft 6 in) oa 76 m (249 ft 4 in) pp
Beam	10.3 m (33 ft 10 in)
Draught	5.3 m (17 ft 5 in)
Propulsion	2 SEMT Pielstick 12 PC 2 V400 diesel engines 8,900  kW (12,000  bhp), 2 shafts
Speed	23.5 knots (43.5 km/h; 27.0 mph)
Range	4,500  nmi (8,300 km; 5,200 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph)
Complement	90
Sensors & processing systems	1 Air/surface DRBV 51A sentry radar 1 DRBC 32E fire control radar 1 Decca 1226 navigation radar 1 DUBA 25 hull sonar (active sonar capability reportedly retained after conversion to OPV role) [2]
Electronic warfare & decoys	1 ARBR 16 radar interceptor 2 Dagaie decoy launchers 1 SLQ-25 Nixie countermeasure system
Armament	2 Exocet MM38 SSMs (removed from French ships when reclassified as OPVs) [3] 1 × 100 mm CADAM gun turret with Najir fire control system and CMS LYNCEA 2 × 20 mm modèle F2 guns 4 × 12.7 mm machine guns 4 × L3 or L5 type torpedoes in four fixed catapults (removed from French ships when reclassified as OPVs) [3] 1 × sextuple Bofors 375 mm rocket launcher (removed from French ships when reclassified as OPVs) [3]

Commandant Blaison (F793) is a D'Estienne d'Orves-class aviso in the French Navy.

Design

Main article: D'Estienne d'Orves-class aviso

Armed by a crew of 90 sailors, these vessels have the reputation of being among the most difficult in bad weather. Their high windage makes them particularly sensitive to pitch and roll as soon as the sea is formed.

Their armament, consequent for a vessel of this tonnage, allows them to manage a large spectrum of missions. During the Cold War, they were primarily used to patrol the continental shelf of the Atlantic Ocean in search of Soviet Navy submarines. Due to the poor performance of the hull sonar, as soon as an echo appeared, the reinforcement of an ASM frigate was necessary to chase it using its towed variable depth sonar. ^[4]

Their role as patrollers now consists mainly of patrols and assistance missions, as well as participation in UN missions (blockades, flag checks) or similar marine policing tasks (fight against drugs, extraction of nationals, fisheries control, etc.). The Exocet missiles have been landed, but they carry several machine guns which are more suited to their new missions.

Its construction cost was estimated at 270,000,000 French francs. ^[5]

Construction and career

Commandant Blaison was laid down on 15 November 1979 at Arsenal de Lorient, Lorient. Launched on 7 March 1981 and commissioned on 28 April 1982.

She is scheduled to be withdrawn from service in 2027 and be replaced by one of a new class of ocean-going Patrol Vessels (the Patrouilleurs Hauturiers ). ^[6]

Citations

1. "L'Enseigne de Vaisseau Jacoubet prend ses quartiers à Brest | Mer et Marine". 17 July 2020.
2. Lagneau, Laurent (16 October 2024). "Deux frégates de type La Fayette vont être converties en patrouilleurs de haute mer". zone militaire (in French). Retrieved 26 August 2025.
3. "Patrouilleurs: Les avisos français sur tous les fronts" [Patrol ships: French Avisos on all fronts.]. asafrance.fr (in French). 26 January 2017. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
4. "Euronaval: First details of the Patrouilleurs Océanique (PO) platform unveiled". Naval News. 23 October 2020. Retrieved 17 September 2021.
5. Quid 1996. p. 2036. ISBN   2-221-08055-6.
6. Groizeleau, Vincent (6 May 2021). "La Marine nationale va rapidement désarmer ses derniers PHM" [The French Navy will quickly disarm its last PHM]. Mer et Marine (in French). https://www.meretmarine.com/fr/content/la-marine-nationale-va-rapidement-se-separer-de-ses-derniers-phm Retrieved 15 June 2021.