ENS ''Tahya Misr'' (FFG 1001) is a

FREMM multipurpose frigate The FREMM (French: ''Frégate Européenne Multi-Mission''; Italian: ''Fregata Europea Multi-Missione''), which stands for "European multi-purpose frigate", is a Franco-Italian family of multi-purpose frigates designed by Naval Group and Fincanti ...

of the

Egyptian Navy The Egyptian Navy ( ar, القوات البحرية المصرية, El-Quwwāt el-Bahareya el-Miṣriyya, Egyptian Navy Forces), also known as the Egyptian Naval Force, is the maritime branch of the Egyptian Armed Forces. It is the largest navy ...

. ''Tahya Misr'' was originally constructed as the ''Aquitaine''-class ''Normandie'' before being acquired by Egypt and being renamed.

Development and design

Three original variants of the FREMM were proposed; an anti-submarine variant (ASW) and a general-purpose variant (GP) and a land-attack variant (AVT) to replace the existing classes of frigates within the French and Italian navies. A total of 27 FREMM were to be constructed - 17 for France and 10 for Italy - with additional aims to seek exports, however budget cuts and changing requirements has seen this number drop significantly for France, while the order for Italy remained unchanged. The land-attack variant (AVT) was subsequently cancelled. On 16 February 2015, the

ordered one FREMM vessel to enter service before the opening of the

New Suez Canal The Suez Canal Corridor Area Project ( ar, مشروع تطوير محور قناة السويس) is a megaproject in Egypt that was launched on 5 August 2014 by President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and completed in 2015. The project aimed to increas ...

, as part of a larger deal (including 24 Rafales and a supply of missiles) worth US$5.9 billion (€5.2 billion). The SYLVER A70 VLS and NETTUNO-4100 jamming equipment were removed due to export limitations for such sensitive equipment. The crew will be around 126 sailors compared to 108 in the French Navy. The SATCOM antenna for the French Syracuse satellites was also taken down; however, Egypt will use its own military telecommunications satellite, supplied by

Airbus Defence and Space Airbus Defence and Space is the division of Airbus SE responsible for the development and manufacturing of the corporation's defence and space products, while also providing related services. The division was formed in January 2014 during the ...

and

Thales Alenia Space Thales Alenia Space () is a Franco-Italian aerospace manufacturer. A joint venture between the French technology corporation Thales Group (67%) and Italian defense conglomerate Leonardo (33%), the company is the largest satellite manufacture ...

, in conjunction with its naval vessels. From March 2015, DCNS trained the Egyptian crew in the technology of the ship and DCNS and its partners accompanied the crew for a period of 15 months.

Construction and career

In order to keep to Egypt's deadlines, France offered to send ''Normandie'', originally intended for the

French Navy The French Navy (french: Marine nationale, lit=National Navy), informally , is the maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the five military service branches of France. It is among the largest and most powerful naval forces in t ...

. On 23 June 2015, French naval shipbuilder DCNS transferred the FREMM frigate ''Tahya Misr'' ( ex-''Normandie'') to the Egyptian Navy. A ceremony took place to transfer ''Normandie'', renamed ''Tahya Misr'' ("Long Live Egypt") to Egypt, in the presence of General

Sedki Sobhy Sedki Sobhy Sayyid Ahmad ( ar, صدقى صبحى سيد أحمد ) (born 12 December 1955) is an Egyptian politician and former General who was Minister of Defence of Egypt from 2014 until 2018. Sobhy previously served as the Chief of Sta ...

, the Egyptian Minister of Defense,

Jean-Yves Le Drian Jean-Yves Le Drian (; born 30 June 1947) is a French politician who served as Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, Minister of Europe and Foreign Affairs in the First Philippe government, governments of Prime Ministers Édouard Philippe and ...

, the French Minister of Defense, Admiral Osama Rabie, Egyptian Navy Commander in Chief, Admiral Bernard Rogel, the French Chief of Navy and Hervé Guillou, Chairman & CEO of DCNS. The frigate sailed for the first time under the Egyptian flag on 24 June 2015, and as the

flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically the fi ...

of the fleet on 6 August, it participated in the inauguration of the new

Suez Canal The Suez Canal ( arz, قَنَاةُ ٱلسُّوَيْسِ, ') is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez and dividing Africa and Asia. The long canal is a popular ...

. In August 2018, ''Tahya Misr'' carried out a joint exercise with the similar , returning home after having participated in

Operation Atalanta Operation Atalanta, formally European Union Naval Force (EU NAVFOR) Somalia, is a current counter-piracy military operation at sea off the Horn of Africa and in the Western Indian Ocean, that is the first naval operation conducted by the E ...

in the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by th ...

Gallery

File:Frégate-FREMM-TahyaMisr-Lorient-20150702 01.jpg, ''Tahya Misr'' before her transfer as ''Normandie'' at

Lorient Lorient (; ) is a town (''Communes of France, commune'') and Port, seaport in the Morbihan Departments of France, department of Brittany (administrative region), Brittany in western France. History Prehistory and classical antiquity Beginn ...

on 2 July 2015. File:Frégate-FREMM-TahyaMisr-Lorient-20150702 02.jpg, ''Tahya Misr'' before her transfer as ''Normandie'' at Lorient on 2 July 2015. File:Frégate-FREMM-TahyaMisr-Lorient-20150702 03.jpg, ''Tahya Misr'' before her transfer as ''Normandie'' at Lorient on 2 July 2015. File:Frégate-FREMM-TahyaMisr-Lorient-20150702 04.jpg, ''Tahya Misr'' before her transfer as ''Normandie'' at Lorient on 2 July 2015.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tahya Misr, Egyptian frigate 2008 ships Ships built in France Aquitaine-class frigates Frigates of the Egyptian Navy