FREMM Frigates Program Update and Shipyard visit
- Thread starter navyreco
- Start date
This is a GREAT report. Great pictures and good questions.
These Frigates are very capable and powerful for their weight. Loved the questions and answers. The 127mm gun question was very interesting and the French can have that anytime they want to pay for it.
You pressed him on the additional missle cells but he was pretty firm on that though he did indicate that more could be added if a customer wanted to pay for it...both in terms of current cost and future logistics.
Thanks a lot for this report.
navyreco
Senior Member
Thank you Jeff.
Actually, I could tell at one point that I was annoying him with those kind of questions
Hehehe...well, as long as your were respectful and polite, there is nothing wrong, IMHO, with asking pointed questions in an interview.Thank you Jeff.
Actually, I could tell at one point that I was annoying him with those kind of questions
I beliee you both handled it well. He clearly did not want to go to certain places, and so he didn't.
Anyhow, great interview and great pics.
I wish the US had some decent multi-function FFGs on the horizon. I read in Proceeding this month about the positive features of the LCS, and there definitely are some very good ones for working in the litorals. but usually, they are going to be pretty low intensity, hardly greater than Level I Threat/Vulnerability levels...and that's a lot to spend for that.
They are talking about them accompanying CSGs and ARGs...and that, to me is a stretch for them. They simply do not have the endurance, and though with an ASW mission package (if it turns out to be strong enough) they can perform that role...they are too lightly defended to be out on threat vectors operating alone because they simply are not strong enough in air defense to be hanging out there in a potentially much higher threat environment as a ASW picket for a CSG.
Closer in, in the inner ring, and with a good ASW package, perhaps because they would be under the AAW umbrella anyway.
If a CSG is having to manuever through a tight strait some place I suppose they can double up the SASW and have the mcounter-mine mission as well...but that is much more seldom required.
I'd rather see no more than 24 of the the LCS and see about 30 really good, multi-mission FFGs like the FREMM...or heck, even something as capable as the 054As. But that's just me.
navyreco
Senior Member
Have you seen this piece?
To be compared with:
However there are some skeptics in France too, saying this number will likely increase following the ship's first long cruise which should start next month (a port of call in Norfolk is planned too
)