French frigate La Fayette

French battleship

La Fayette is a general purpose stealth frigate of the French Navy (Marine Nationale).^[11] She is the second French vessel named after the 18th century general Marquis de Lafayette. She is the lead ship of the class.^[12]

Upgrade

La Fayette began a major life extension upgrade in October 2021. The upgrade is designed to permit the frigate to operate through the 2020s and into the 2030s and incorporates the addition of hull-mounted sonar, improved point air defence systems, the CANTO anti-torpedo countermeasures system, as well as the capacity to deploy the latest variant of the Exocet anti-ship missile.^[13][5] The frigate returned to sea for testing of her new systems in May 2022 and was declared fully operational again in November 2022.^[14] She is to remain active until 2031.^[15][16]

Career Post-Upgrade

In February 2023, the frigate was tasked to initiate an around the world deployment accompanying the helicopter assault ship Dixmude. The deployment was to involve a series of exercises and port calls enroute. According to the commander of the mission, Captain Emmanuel Mocard, La Fayette possesses improved sea-keeping and endurance following her upgrade and the scope of the planned deployment would not have been feasible prior to her refit.^[17] The frigate returned to Toulon in July.^[18]

In 2024, La Fayette deployed to the Atlantic to fill a gap resulting from the retirement of the patrol vessel Premier-Maître L'Her and a delay in the commissioning of the new frigate Amiral Ronarc'h.^[19]

Gallery

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

In popular culture

• La Fayette was featured in the 1995 James Bond film GoldenEye, as the site for the unveiling of the Eurocopter Tiger, which is subsequently stolen in the film.^[20] The 1997 video game based on the movie, GoldenEye 007, released for the Nintendo 64, includes a hostage rescue mission on board La Fayette. This mission was reimagined for the game's 2010 remake, developed for the Wii and Nintendo DS consoles, as well as its own 2011 remaster, GoldenEye 007: Reloaded, available for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 platforms.

References

1. Groizeleau, Vincent (28 November 2022). "La frégate La Fayette de nouveau opérationnelle après sa rénovation". Mer et Marine. Retrieved 29 November 2022.
2. Vavasseur, Xavier (3 February 2023). "French Mission Jeanne D'Arc 2023 To Sail Across Indo-Pacific". Naval News.
3. "La Fayette Class Frigate". Naval Technology. 3 May 2001.
4. Ozberk, Tayfun (9 February 2023). "French LHD And Frigate Set Sails For Deployment Around The World". Naval News.
5. Vavasseur, Xavier (18 October 2021). "First Upgraded la Fayette-class Frigate back into the French Fleet". Naval News.
6. Vavasseur, Xavier (17 October 2022). "First Exocet MM40 Block 3c Missiles Set For December Delivery". Naval News. Retrieved 29 November 2022.
7. Groizeleau, Vincent (15 April 2021). "Première FLF rénovée, la frégate Courbet remise à l'eau". Mer et Marine (in French). Retrieved 26 April 2021.
8. Manaranche, Martin (31 July 2021). "Video: French Navy's La Fayette-Class Frigate Mid-Life Update". Naval News. Retrieved 31 August 2021.
9. Vavasseur, Xavier (18 July 2019). "Naval Group Ready To Produce CANTO Anti-Torpedo System In Australia". Naval News. Retrieved 31 August 2021.
10. Vavasseur, Xavier (17 October 2022). "Here Is Naval Group's New Torpedo Decoy Launcher". Naval News. Retrieved 18 October 2022.
11. Lavers, Christopher (2012). Reeds Vol 14: Stealth Warship Technology. Reeds Marine Engineering and Technology Series. Thomas Reed Publications. p. 134. ISBN 9781408175538.
12. "FS La Fayette (F710) Light Stealth Frigate Warship (1996)". MilitaryFactory.com. Retrieved 20 January 2017.
13. Manaranche, Martin (31 July 2021). "Video: French Navy's La Fayette-Class Frigate Mid-Life Update". Naval News. Retrieved 28 August 2021.
14. "Toulon : Mise en service opérationnel de la frégate La Fayette rénovée". Press Agence (in French). 24 November 2022. Retrieved 29 November 2022.
15. "Rénovée, la frégate la Fayette reprend la mer". Mer et Marine (in French). 19 May 2022.
16. "Marine nationale : les programmes qui vont façonner la future flotte française". Mer et Marine (in French). 1 February 2021.
17. Vavasseur, Xavier (3 February 2023). "French Mission Jeanne D'Arc 2023 To Sail Across Indo-Pacific". Naval News.
18. Groizeleau, Vincent (17 July 2023). "Jeanne d'Arc : le PHA Dixmude et la frégate La Fayette sont rentrés à Toulon". Mer et Marine.
19. Tanguy, Jean-Marc (11 July 2024). "La frégate La Fayette fera une première mission en Atlantique cet été". le Marin (in French). Retrieved 20 July 2024.
20. Rayner, Jonathan (2013). The Naval War Film: Genre, History and National Cinema. Manchester University Press. ISBN 9781847796257.