Surcouf (F711) is a La Fayette-class frigate of the French Navy. Construction began at Lorient Naval Dockyard on 6 July 1992, launched 3 July 1993, and the ship was commissioned May 1996. Since entering service, Surcouf has taken part in numerous missions, notably in Operation Antilope, Operation Trident (Kosovo) and Mission Khor Anga in the Djibouti zone.
HMS Ocean was a Landing Platform Helicopter, formerly the UK's helicopter carrier and the fleet flagship of the Royal Navy. She was designed to support amphibious landing operations and to support the staff of Commander UK Amphibious Force and Commander UK Landing Force. She was constructed in the mid-1990s by Kvaerner Govan on the River Clyde and fitted out by VSEL at Barrow-in-Furness prior to trials and subsequent acceptance in service. Ocean was commissioned in September 1998 at her home port HMNB Devonport, Plymouth.
Charles de Gaulle is the flagship of the French Navy. The ship, commissioned in 2001, is the tenth French aircraft carrier, the first French nuclear-powered surface vessel, and the only nuclear-powered carrier completed outside of the United States Navy. She is named after French president and general Charles de Gaulle.
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.
Jeanne d'Arc was a helicopter cruiser of the French Navy. She was the sixth vessel of the French Navy named after Joan of Arc, a national heroine of France and saint of the Catholic Church who distinguished herself in the Hundred Years' War by helping France turn the tide of the Lancastrian phase.
Courbet is a general purpose stealth frigate of the French Navy of the La Fayette class. She is the third French vessel named after the 19th-century Admiral Amédée Courbet.
Guépratte is a general purpose La Fayette-class frigate of the French Marine Nationale. She is the second French vessel named after the 19–20th century admiral Émile Paul Amable Guépratte. The ship was commissioned in 2001 and is currently in service. She is scheduled to remain in service until 2031.
Chevalier Paul is a Horizon-class frigate of the French Marine Nationale commissioned in June 2009, the third vessel of the French Navy named after the 17th century admiral Chevalier Paul. The main mission of this type of ship is the escort and protection of a carrier strike group formed around an aircraft carrier, usually Charles de Gaulle or one of the aircraft carriers of the US Navy, or an amphibious operation carried out by amphibious helicopter carriers. The ship's specialty is air traffic control in a war zone, but it can be employed in a wide variety of missions, such as intelligence-gathering, special forces operations, or in protecting less well-armed vessels. Horizon-class frigates such as Chevalier Paul are the most powerful surface combatants that France has ever built. In service since the end of 2011, it bears the pennant number D621. Its namesake is Jean-Paul de Saumeur, better known as Chevalier Paul, a French naval officer born in Marseille in 1598.
Nivôse is a Floréal-class frigate of the French Navy. The frigate is the third ship of the class and the fourth French vessel named after the fourth month of the Republican Calendar. Nivôse was constructed by Chantiers de l'Atlantique at Saint-Nazaire, France, in 1991 and entered service in 1992. The frigate is stationed at Réunion in the Indian Ocean for patrol duties.
Germinal is a Floréal-class frigate of the French Navy. She is the sixth and last ship of her class, and the first French vessel named after Germinal, the seventh month of the Republican Calendar. The ship was constructed at Saint-Nazaire, France, in 1992–1993 and entered service in 1994. The frigate has served in the Mediterranean and Caribbean Seas and the Gulf of Guinea. Germinal is stationed in the Antilles (Fort-de-France) for patrol duties in the Caribbean Sea.
The Mistral class is a class of five landing helicopter docks built by France. Also known as helicopter carriers, and referred to as "projection and command ships" and "porte-hélicoptères amphibie" (PHA) since 2019, a Mistral-class ship is capable of transporting and deploying 16 NH90 or Tiger helicopters, four landing craft, up to 70 vehicles including 13 Leclerc tanks, or a 40-strong Leclerc tank battalion, and 450 soldiers. The ships are equipped with a 69-bed hospital, and are capable of serving as part of a NATO Response Force, or with United Nations or European Union peace-keeping forces.
Mistral (L9013) is an amphibious assault ship, a type of helicopter carrier, of the French Navy. She is the fourth vessel to bear the name, and is the lead ship of the Mistral-class amphibious assault ships.
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 Force d'action navale is the 9,600-man and about 100-ship force of surface warships of the French Navy. As of August 2023, it is commanded by L’amiral Nicolas Vaujour.
The Egyptian Navy, also known as the Egyptian Naval Force, is the maritime branch of the Egyptian Armed Forces. It is the largest navy in the Middle East as well as Africa, and is the twelfth largest navy in the world. The navy protects more than 2,000 kilometers of coastline of the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea, defense of approaches to the Suez Canal, and it also supports for army operations. The majority of the modern Egyptian Navy was created with the help of the Soviet Union in the 1960s. The navy received ships in the 1980s from China and Western sources. In 1989, the Egyptian Navy had 18,000 personnel as well as 2,000 personnel in the Coast Guard. The navy received ships from the US in 1990. US shipbuilder Swiftships has built around 30 boats for the Egyptian Navy including mine hunters, survey vessels, and both steel and aluminium patrol boats.
Operation Unified Protector was a NATO operation in 2011 enforcing United Nations Security Council resolutions 1970 and 1973 concerning the Libyan Civil War and adopted on 26 February and 17 March 2011, respectively. These resolutions imposed sanctions on key members of the Gaddafi government and authorized NATO to implement an arms embargo, a no-fly zone and to use all means necessary, short of foreign occupation, to protect Libyan civilians and civilian populated areas.
Dixmude (L9015) is an amphibious assault ship, a type of helicopter carrier, of the French Navy. She is the third vessel to bear the name, and is the third ship of the Mistral class.
Hassan II (612) is a Floréal-class frigate of the Royal Moroccan Navy. The ship was the first to be constructed for Morocco by Chantiers de l'Atlantique at Saint-Nazaire, France, from 1999 to 2002. The frigate entered service in 2002. Hassan II is the second of two Floréal-class frigates in Moroccan service, the other being Mohammed V.
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.
The Nexter Narwhal is a type of remotely operated naval artillery turret made by the French company Nexter. It houses a 20 mm autocannon based on the Nexter M621 and M693. The name "Narwhal" is a backronym of "NAval Remote Weapon, Highly Accurate, Lightweight". It is designed to fit warships of all types ranging from patrol boats to frigates to aircraft carriers, notably as a close-quarters self-defence weapon.
France
