''Surcouf'' (F711) is a of 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 ...
. Construction began at
Lorient Naval Dockyard on 6 July 1992,
launched 3 July 1993, and the ship was
commissioned May 1996. Since entering service, ''Surcouf'' has taken part in numerous missions, notably in Operation Antilope (Gabon and Congo), Operation Trident (Kosovo) and Mission Khor Anga in the Djibouti zone.
Service history
On 14 May 2001, ''Surcouf'' rendered assistance to Marc Guillemot, skipper of ''Biscuits La Trinitaine-Team Ethypharm'', who had to abandon his ship after her starboard hull was seriously damaged. The catamaran's crew of five were airlifted to safety by helicopter.
On 14 October 2004, ''Surcouf'' assisted ''Sara 2'', a Panamanian cargo ship which ran aground near
Yemen
Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, north and ...
. The 16-man crew was successfully airlifted by the Panther helicopter, and later transferred from the frigate to the Yemeni coast guard.
Between 17 and 21 May 2008, ''Surcouf '' participated in Exercise KhunjarHaad, a multi-national exercise held in the
Gulf of Oman
The Gulf of Oman or Sea of Oman ( ar, خليج عمان ''khalīj ʿumān''; fa, دریای عمان ''daryâ-ye omân''), also known as Gulf of Makran or Sea of Makran ( ar, خلیج مکران ''khalīj makrān''; fa, دریای مکرا ...
. Other participating warships included the American destroyer , the British frigate , the British
fleet replenishment tanker and four other coalition ships conducted air defense; surface warfare operation;
visit, board, search and seizure (VBSS); and joint gunnery exercises, which focused on joint interoperability training and proficiency.
In November 2012 ''Surcouf'' deployed to the
Horn of Africa
The Horn of Africa (HoA), also known as the Somali Peninsula, is a large peninsula and geopolitical region in East Africa.Robert Stock, ''Africa South of the Sahara, Second Edition: A Geographical Interpretation'', (The Guilford Press; 2004), ...
as part of the European Union's Naval Operation in the area. A British
Lynx HMA.8 helicopter of
815 Squadron was on board for the whole four-month deployment, along with 12 personnel including 2
Royal Marine snipers.
This was the first extended deployment of a
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...
helicopter on a French warship and was the result of a treaty between the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
and
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
to share military resources and conduct more joint operations.
During a 2017-18 refit, the frigate was equipped with a Thales Bluewatcher sonar as part of a two-year trial that was subsequently extended through 2022. ''Surcouf'' was the first ''La Fayette''-class ship to receive an active sonar capability.
In 2021, ''Surcouf'' deployed to the Pacific accompanying the French Navy helicopter assault ship .
In April 2022, ''Surcouf'', with a Panther helicopter embarked, again deployed to the Indian Ocean to relieve her sister ship .
From 26 until 30 May 2022, ''Surcouf'' trained with the
Kuwait Naval Force.
''Surcouf'' is scheduled to undergo a modest structural and technical upgrade (with the elderly Crotale SAM to be removed from the vessel) and, given somewhat reduced general purpose capability, be re-assigned to offshore patrol duties prior to her planned withdrawal from service in 2027.
References
Sources
Frégate ''Surcouf''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Surcouf, French frigate
La Fayette-class frigates
Frigates of France
1993 ships
Ships built in France