New frigate for France. The FDI program gains European momentum. 13 Naval Group ships for NATO navies

The launch of the frigate Amiral Louzeau at Naval Group’s Lorient shipyard marks more than another milestone in the modernization of the French Navy. The FDI (Frégate de Défense et d’Intervention) program is increasingly emerging as one of Europe’s most important next-generation surface combatant projects, both operationally and industrially. Following France and Greece, Sweden has now selected the design as the basis for its future frigate fleet, bringing the total number of ordered ships to thirteen across NATO countries.

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21 may 2026   |   10:46   |   Source: Gazeta Morska   |   Prepared by: Kamil Kusier   |   Print

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Naval Group launched Amiral Louzeau on May 16 in Lorient. The vessel is the second FDI frigate ordered by the French defence procurement agency for the Marine nationale and the fifth hull of the overall program, including export variants.

The ship will now enter the fitting-out phase, followed by harbour and sea trials ahead of delivery to the French Navy. Once commissioned, Amiral Louzeau will join its sister ship Amiral Ronarc’h in Brest.

The launch comes just seven months after the delivery of the lead ship, underlining that the FDI program is now transitioning into serial production. Only a few years ago, the project was viewed primarily as a national replacement program for the ageing La Fayette-class frigates. Today, it is evolving into a broader European naval platform with growing export credibility.

Serial production begins in Lorient

For the French naval industry, the significance goes beyond fleet recapitalization. As European navies accelerate modernization efforts amid rising geopolitical tensions and renewed focus on maritime security, Lorient is once again becoming one of the continent’s key hubs for advanced warship construction.

The FDI design was developed as a compact but heavily networked frontline combatant capable of anti-air warfare, anti-submarine operations, escort missions and multi-domain naval operations. The frigates integrate Thales’ Sea Fire AESA radar, the SETIS combat management system, Aster surface-to-air missiles and a highly digitalized sensor architecture.

Despite a displacement of around 4,500 tonnes, the ships are designed to deliver capabilities typically associated with larger air-defence frigates. High automation levels also reduce crew requirements while supporting sustained operational deployments.

France’s future frontline frigate

The FDI program was launched to replace the Marine nationale’s La Fayette-class frigates and currently includes five ships for France:

1. Amiral Ronarc’h
2. Amiral Louzeau
3. Amiral Castex
4. Amiral Nomy
5. Amiral Cabanier

The lead ship has already begun operational evaluations. According to the French Navy, Amiral Ronarc’h demonstrated its operational and interoperability capabilities during long-duration deployment activities and the Orion 2026 multinational exercise.

For Paris, the program also carries strategic industrial importance. Maintaining sovereign warship design and integration capabilities remains a central pillar of France’s defence industrial policy and broader ambitions regarding European strategic autonomy.

Program execution is also becoming a competitive advantage. At a time when several European naval programs continue to face delays and cost overruns, Naval Group is steadily moving successive hulls through production milestones, strengthening confidence in the design among potential export customers.

From French program to NATO platform

Although originally developed for France, the FDI design rapidly gained international traction. Greece became the first export customer, ordering four FDI HN frigates for the Hellenic Navy under a broader French-Greek strategic defence partnership.

The Greek vessels — Kimon, Nearchos and Formion, along with a fourth unit ordered later — are expected to become the most advanced surface combatants in Greek service and significantly expand Athens’ area air-defence capabilities in the Eastern Mediterranean.

The program’s latest breakthrough came in 2026, when Sweden selected the FDI platform as the basis for its future Luleå-class frigates. The Swedish ships will integrate a significant number of Saab-developed combat systems and sensors, while retaining the French-designed core platform.

The decision marked a turning point for the program. Only a few years ago, FDI was often overshadowed by larger and more established European frigate programs such as the UK’s Type 26 or the Franco-Italian FREMM. Today, the situation looks markedly different.

With France, Greece and Sweden collectively planning thirteen ships based on the design, FDI is increasingly positioning itself as one of Europe’s key next-generation frigate programs.

The growing fleet also enhances NATO interoperability. While national variants will feature different combat systems and weapons configurations, the shared platform architecture creates opportunities for closer logistical cooperation, common training approaches and operational integration among allied navies.

The launch of Amiral Louzeau therefore represents more than progress on a single hull. It signals the maturation of a naval program that is steadily transforming from a national French initiative into one of Europe’s most significant maritime defence projects.

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