The French government’s defence procurement agency has placed an order for a fifth Defence and Intervention Frigate from Naval Group, the company stated.
The order was notified on 31 March 2026, following the ordering of the fourth FDI in December 2025. The fifth frigate completes a programme of five units for the French Navy, with both vessels being built at Naval Group’s facility in Lorient.
Pierre Éric Pommellet, Chairman and CEO of Naval Group, said the orders for frigates four and five “renews its confidence in us to complete the series of defence and intervention frigates,” adding that the company is “fully mobilized to provide the French Navy with the means to achieve naval superiority, in the service of France’s sovereignty.”
Alongside the four FDI frigates already ordered by the Hellenic Navy, the two latest French orders bring the total production run of the class to nine vessels.
The FDI is described by Naval Group as a first-rank frigate capable across anti-aircraft, anti-submarine, anti-surface and asymmetric warfare. According to the company, the design combines advanced digital and data processing technologies with the ability to operate independently or as part of a fleet against threats including latest-generation submarines, supersonic missiles, cyberattacks and asymmetric threats. The ship is built to NATO standards, ensuring interoperability with allied navies.
The lead vessel of the class, Admiral Ronarc’h, has completed 14 weeks of sea trials to date, during which the crew observed its performance in sea state six conditions in the Atlantic Ocean. Naval Group said the compact layout of the FDI makes it suited to a range of environments including cold and warm waters and archipelagic settings.
The design also incorporates integrated automation systems that allow the ship to operate with a reduced crew, and Naval Group said its maintainability is comparable to that of the French Navy’s FREMM multi-mission frigates, which have achieved an 80 percent availability rate over more than a decade.
Word from Sweden is that it will get its first FDI frigate in 2030 due to France continuing to give up its own slots. I know we did something similar with Norway to get the T26 however in that instance Norway will be supplementing UK defence directly with those vessels.
It’s always going to be very difficult for the UK to compete against nations (France and Spain) who sees its military as a job creation program first and foremost and is willing to accept military cuts and deficiencies to maintain job programs.
There is simply no way that the MoD or the government will be willing to cut or delay significant military programs to keep a continuous order of frigates at Rosyth rolling out of production. We should get past this fantasy of building frigates for export and size our production around our own needs.
We have little if any chance of more export orders for Arrowhead 140 built in the UK and we have three surface yards cranking out ships with a fleet that can barely support one.
France just has more experience in what it takes to win a weapon deal. Getting export deals is crucial to financing the shipbuilding industry as the French navy will never order enough hulls to keep the shipyards open… Spreading the delivery of hulls over a longer period is also much easier to manage financially that acquiring them over a short period of time.
The fantasy is thinking you can sustain British shipbuilding industry only with British orders, that’s a recipe for huge cost overruns and delays.
It is job creation, but that said one man’s job creation is another man’s support for your own industry. You are much more likely to get the export sale if you have ordered them for your own forces. When you are entering a competitive market there’s a saying that you either need to be the first or the best. In this case Naval Group are the first and the best! By being the first you define the market. Best thing Babcock and the UK can do now is decide what T32 should do and order 5…define the future….multipurpose mothership GP or whatever. Position the FDI as legacy thinking.
France is now the leading naval power in Europe, and that includes the U.K. A balanced fleet with availablity levels we haven’t seen in years. Meanwhile the UK government talks about jobs in industry without having the guts to publish the D.I.P. They have cut and delayed orders and won’t or cannot publish the Defence Action Plan either. Due this summer it has now been postponed until 2027. Will either plan be published?
They have long periods with very low availability too. Like the part time carrier force.