''Enseigne de vaisseau Jacoubet'' (F794) is a in the
French Navy.
Design
Armed by a crew of 90 sailors, these vessels have the reputation of being among the most difficult in bad weather. Their high windage makes them particularly sensitive to pitch and roll as soon as the sea is formed.
Their armament, consequent for a vessel of this tonnage, allows them to manage a large spectrum of missions. During the
Cold War
The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...
, they were primarily used to patrol the continental shelf of the
Atlantic Ocean in search of
Soviet Navy submarines. Due to the poor performance of the
hull sonar, as soon as an echo appeared, the reinforcement of an ASM frigate was necessary to chase it using its towed
variable depth sonar.
Their role as patrollers now consists mainly of patrols and assistance missions, as well as participation in
UN missions (blockades, flag checks) or similar marine policing tasks (fight against drugs, extraction of nationals, fisheries control, etc.). The mer-mer 38 or mer-mer 40 missiles have been landed, but they carry several machine guns and machine guns, more suited to their new missions.
Its construction cost was estimated at 270,000,000
French francs.
Construction and career
''Enseigne de vaisseau Jacoubet'' was
laid down in April 1979 at
Arsenal de Lorient,
Lorient.
Launched on 29 September 1981 and
commissioned on 23 October 1982.
In January 2013, during
Operation Serval
Operation Serval (french: Opération Serval) was a French military operation in Mali. The aim of the operation was to oust Islamic militants from the north of Mali, who had begun a push into the center of Mali.
Operation Serval followed the ...
in
Mali, the ship escorted a
ro-ro vessel chartered by the French Navy, MN Eider, which was transporting equipment to
Senegal.
In 2014, the ship participated in
Operation Corymbe, off
West Africa.
In May 2016, she participated in search operations for
Flight 804 EgyptAir, which disappeared on 19 May 2016 in the
eastern Mediterranean Sea.
On 15 February 2019, the vessel joined the European operation
EU Navfor Med
Operation Sophia, formally European Union Naval Force Mediterranean (EU NAVFOR Med), was a military operation of the European Union that was established as a consequence of the April 2015 Libya migrant shipwrecks with the aim of neutralising estab ...
in order to fight against trafficking in the Mediterranean. He left the operation on March 14, after 28 days of engagement. Since her admission to active service, her code name is Jackhammer.
She was transferred from her home port of
Toulon in July 2020 to
Brest. In 2022, it was indicated that the ship would be equipped with the SMDM (navy mini-drone system) to enhance her surveillance capabilities. She began a short upgrade in November 2022 (to continue until February 2023), in order to integrate the new system.
She is scheduled to be withdrawn from service in 2026 and be replaced by one of a new class of ocean-going Patrol Vessels (the ''Patrouilleurs Océanique'').
Citations
{{DEFAULTSORT:Enseigne de vaisseau Jacoubet
Ships built in Lorient
1981 ships
D'Estienne d'Orves-class avisos