The Storm Shadow is a Franco-British low-observable, long-range air-launched cruise missile developed since 1994 by Matra and British Aerospace, and now manufactured by MBDA. "Storm Shadow" is the weapon's British name; in France it is called SCALP-EG. The missile is based on the French-developed Apache anti-runway cruise missile, but differs in that it carries a unitary warhead instead of cluster munitions.
The Aster 15 and Aster 30 are a Franco-Italian family of all-weather, vertical launch surface-to-air missiles. The name "Aster" stands for "Aérospatiale Terminale", with French company Aérospatiale having been the project's lead contractor before its missile activities were merged into MBDA. It also takes inspiration from the word "aster", meaning "star" in Ancient Greek. The missiles as well as the related weapon systems are manufactured by Eurosam, a consortium consisting of MBDA France, MBDA Italy and Thales, each holding a 33.3% share.
The Principal Anti-Air Missile System (PAAMS) is a joint programme developed by France, Italy, and the United Kingdom for an integrated anti-aircraft warfare system. The prime contractor is EUROPAAMS, a joint venture between Eurosam (66%) and UKAMS (33%). In the United Kingdom, PAAMS has been given the designation Sea Viper.
The La Fayette class is a class of general purpose frigates built by DCNS in the 1980s and 1990s, operated by the French Navy and three other navies. Derivatives of the type are in service in the navies of Saudi Arabia, Singapore, and Taiwan.
La Fayette is a general purpose stealth frigate of the French Navy. She is the second French vessel named after the 18th century general Marquis de Lafayette. She is the lead ship of the class.
The FREMM, which stands for "European multi-purpose frigate", is a Franco-Italian family of multi-purpose frigates designed by Naval Group and Fincantieri. In France, this surface combatant is known as the "Aquitaine class", while in Italy it is known as the "Bergamini class". The lead ship of the class, Aquitaine, was commissioned in November 2012 by the French Navy. Italy has ordered six general purpose and four anti-submarine variants. France, on the other hand, has ordered six anti-submarine variants and two air-defense ones.
The French Navy's modernization, as is the case with the Army and Air and Space Force, is pursued on the basis of successive 7-year Military Planning Laws. The latest LPM covers the 2024-2030 period and is tailored around four strategic priorities: the strengthening of deterrence assets; preparation for high-intensity warfare; protecting national interests in all French territories, shared spaces and key domains ; and finally, the strengthening of international partnerships.
The Naval Strike Missile (NSM) is an anti-ship and land-attack missile developed by the Norwegian company Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace (KDA).
The FC/ASW or FMAN/FMC in French, also dubbed FOSW and SPEAR 5, is a next generation missile programme launched by France and the United Kingdom in 2017 to succeed their jointly-developed Storm Shadow/SCALP as well as their respective Exocet and Harpoon anti-ship missiles. Equally funded by both countries with a workload evenly split, the project is led by MBDA and is a product of the close defence relationship set out between the two nations by the Lancaster House treaties. In June 2023, it was announced Italy would join the programme; a restructuring of the workshare to reflect this new development is expected to take place.
The Frégate de Défense et d'Intervention or FDI, formerly denominated Frégate de Taille Intermédiaire or FTI, is a programme launched in 2015 to produce a new class of first-rank French frigates to complement the Aquitaine-class. As of February 2022, five ships have been ordered for the French Navy and will form the "Amiral Ronarc'h class", with the lead ship expected to be commissioned in 2025. In 2021, three units were ordered by Greece for the Hellenic Navy and will form the Kimon class.
The Constellation-class multi-mission guided-missile frigates of the United States Navy are based on the European multipurpose frigates (FREMM), already in service with the French and Italian navies. Constellation follows the modular but problematic littoral combat ships of the Freedom and Independence classes. The U.S. Navy announced the FFG(X) frigate project in the United States Department of Defense's Request For Information (RFI) in July 2017.
Provence (D652) is an Aquitaine-class frigate of the French Navy. The Aquitaine class were developed as part of the FREMM multipurpose frigate program.
Normandie (D651) is an Aquitaine-class frigate of the French Navy. The Aquitaine class were developed from the FREMM multipurpose frigate program.
Languedoc (D653) is an Aquitaine-class frigate of the French Navy. The Aquitaine class were developed from the FREMM multipurpose frigate program.
Auvergne (D654) is an Aquitaine-class frigate of the French Navy. The Aquitaine class were developed from the FREMM multipurpose frigate program.
Bretagne (D655) is an Aquitaine-class frigate of the French Navy. The Aquitaine class were developed from the European multi-mission frigate (FREMM) program.
Alsace (D656) is an Aquitaine-class frigate of the French Navy developed through the FREMM multipurpose frigate program. She is the first of two air-defence variants of the class known as FREMM DA in the program.
Lorraine (D657) is an Aquitaine-class frigate of the French Navy which were developed through the FREMM multipurpose frigate program. She is the second of two air-defence variants of the class known as FREMM DA in the program.
The Missile de Croisière Naval (MdCN), meaning Naval Cruise Missile, is a French turbojet-powered subsonic cruise missile intended for ship and submarine-based land-attack operations. Originally dubbed SCALP Naval, the program arose out of a requirement issued by the French Ministry of Defence for a more potent cruise missile capable of striking strategic and military targets from extended stand-off ranges in order to complement the air-launched SCALP-EG.
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