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FS La Fayette (F710)

1996 MODERN NAVY

History

France has been at the forefront since the age of sailing, developing warships such as Napoleon I, the first warship to use a screw-shaft propeller. The Lafayette Class debut was no exception.

In 1985, the French Navy began an analysis based on government requirements for a class of ships that could be used in domestic and international naval operations. Deterrence factors and systems that are also capable of attacking "enemy" ships are listed as additional requirements.

She must be able to gather intelligence, support amphibious operations, search and rescue (SAR), and participate in humanitarian missions when needed.

Their designers, DCN International, could not use the standing ship program for the multi-mission requirements of the French Navy, as stealth and survivability would be the cornerstones of the new design. The blueprint was a stealth frigate assembled from the keel, while the Lafayette was built by the French shipbuilding company Lorient in 1988 as an ASW-class frigate.

Originally 10 ships were planned, but the Navy only built 5 of the original class.

Satisfy the required stealth section by tilting the sides by 10 degrees, which helps reduce the radar cross section. A special radar-absorbing paint was used for the coating of the boat, and the outline features of the superstructure were minimized. The stealthy design shrinks the 3,800-ton vessel to the size of a 500-ton trawler on radar.

This reduction would facilitate direct attacks on the ship or evade enemy missiles tracking her location. The La Fayette can also emit fake radar images and has a special heat extraction system that uses a set of small tubes behind the mast to cool the exhaust before it is released.

An unusual forward-leaning mast arrangement is combined with a chimney that supports the ESM antenna sitcom along the front gantry. The Thales ARBR 21 (DR 3000S) radar warning receiver is mounted on top of the main mast.

Two defensive and electronic chaff and flare firing systems are mounted on the gun deck aft of the bridge.

The La Fayette has a maximum speed of 27 knots (50 mph) and its propulsion system is a combined diesel and diesel system (CODAD). The system has 4 SEMT Pielstick 12 PA6 V 280 STC diesel engines providing 21,000 SHP on two shafts with drive steerable propellers. The motor is mounted on elastic bearings to reduce noise. The propeller blades are also coated with rubber. To confuse enemy submarine sonar systems, an acoustic system that generates small air bubbles is installed under the hull.

Lafayette also used "propellers," or propellers mounted below the waterline along a narrow section of the bow. The system is capable of moving to port or starboard, allowing the vessel to be positioned or docked without using the main engine or requiring the service of another vessel.

The Lafayette has a helipad on the rear deck that can accommodate a rotorcraft with a maximum weight of 10 tons. Helicopters currently approved to land on frigates are AS565 MA Panther, SA321G Super Frelon and NH 90. It can land or take off in wave heights up to sea state 6.

The Command Data System is the THALES TAVITAC 2000 used by the crew to transmit commands to onboard systems. The firing system for the 100mm main gun and the 20mm Oerlikon F2 gun is a CTM supported by the Castor 2J radar, which is a laser rangefinder and infrared tracking system with a target sight.

The 100mm gun fires 13.5kg shells at a range of 16km at a rate of 80 rounds per minute. The 20mm F2 gun fires at 720 rounds per minute at a range of 10 kilometers.

State-of-the-art sensors search the sea and the air above. The Sea Tiger MK2 radar IDS is designed for high-altitude scanning and can train incoming sea-glide anti-ship missiles at ranges up to 100 km.

However, the ship's primary weapon system is a dual missile launcher designed to fire Exocet surface-pointing anti-ship missiles and Aster 15 anti-aircraft missiles.

The ship had 12 officers, 68 non-commissioned officers and 61 sailors. She stored food supplies and 60 tons of drinking water for the crew for 50 days. There were two ENT boats on board, one used as a launcher for the captain.

DNC is building a Lafayette-class anti-submarine version (Kangding) for Taiwan and an anti-aircraft ship (F3000S) for Saudi Arabia. Singapore has ordered six "Project Delta" stealth frigates, also based on Lafayette. The first is RSS Formidable, built in France and launched in 2004.

The other five ships were named RSS Intrepid, RSS Steadfast, RSS Tenacious, RSS Stalwart and RSS Supreme. These were built in Singapore by Technologies Marine Corporation.