French Frigate Vendémiaire

''Vendémiaire'' is a () of the French Navy. She is the fifth ship of the class, and is named after Vendémiaire, the first month of the Republican Calendar. The ship was constructed at Saint-Nazaire, France, in 1992 and entered service in 1993. ''Vendémiaire'' is stationed in the French Pacific territories for patrol duties.

Design and description

The s were designed in response to a demand for a cheap warship capable of operating in low threat areas and able to perform general patrol functions. As a result, the ''Floréal'' class were constructed to mercantile standards in the areas of ammunition stowage, helicopter facilities and damage control, which significantly lowered the cost of the vessels. The ''Floréal'' class were designed for using modular construction which shortened their building times.

''Vendémiaire'' has a standard displacement of and at full load. The frigate measures long between perpendiculars and overall with a beam of and a draught of . Due to the frigate's broad beam, the ship is equipped with fin stabilisers.

The frigate is powered by a combined diesel and diesel (CODAD) system comprising four SEMT Pielstick 6 PA6 L280 BPC diesel engines driving two shafts each turning a LIPS controllable pitch propeller. The CODAD system is rated at The vessel is also equipped with one bow thruster. Due to the mercantile construction design, the four diesels are all located within one machinery room for ease of maintenance. Both diesel fuel and TR5 aviation fuel is brought aboard at a single location at the stern compared to naval-constructed vessels which sport two. The ship also has three diesel-electric generators located just fore and aft of the machinery room. ''Vendémiaire'' has a maximum speed of and a range of at .

''Vendémiaire'' was armed with two Exocet MM38 surface-to-surface missiles in launchers situated centrally atop the midships superstructure. However, at the end of the missile's life cycle in 2014, the launchers were removed as the French Navy did not intend to replace the capability aboard the ships. The ship also mounts one 100 mm CADAM turret with the Najir fire control system located forwards and two 20 mm modèle F2 guns situated in atop the aft superstructure. The ship is equipped with DRBV-21C (Mars) air sentry, Racal Decca RM1290 navigation and Racal Decca RM1290 landing radars along with ARBG-1A Saïgon communications intercept, CSF ARBR 16A radar intercept electronic surveillance systems and two Dagaie decoy systems.

The frigate is equipped with a helicopter landing pad located on the stern and a hangar. The ship is capable of operating the embarked Eurocopter AS565 Panther up to sea state 5. However, as late as 2021, Aérospatiale Alouette III helicopters were also being embarked, notably in the Pacific region. In 2022, the Eurocopter Dauphin N3 was earmarked to replace the Aérospatiale Alouette IIIs after the Alouette IIIs were withdrawn from service. The ship has a complement of 90 including the aircrew and officers and 24 marines with capacity for a further 13 personnel.

Construction and career

''Vendémiaire'' was ordered as part of the third pair in January 1991 from Chantiers de l'Atlantique for construction at their yard in Saint-Nazaire, France, and the keel was laid down on 17 January 1992. The frigate was built using modular construction methods, which reduced the vessel's construction time. ''Vendémiaire'' was launched on 23 August 1992 and commissioned into the French Navy on 21 October 1993.Jordan has the ship launched on 29 August and commissioned on 20 October. Following sea trials, ''Vendémiaire'' sailed for Arsenal de Lorient, Lorient where the weapons and sensors were installed and underwent further trials.

''Vendémiaire'' was assigned to Nouméa, New Caledonia in the Pacific Ocean. The frigate was deployed to East Timor as part of the Australian-led INTERFET peacekeeping taskforce from 20 September to 17 November 1999.

The ship went on a tour of China in 2011, stopping at Hong Kong. ''Vendémiaire'' was opened to the public 17 April 2011 in Hong Kong. The ship visited the city again from 26 February to 2 March 2018, being opened for public tours. In October 2013 the vessel participated in the International Fleet Review 2013 in Sydney, Australia.

From 1 to 3 June 2015, ''Vendémiaire'' performed French sovereignty missions to Matthew Island and Hunter Island. In 2015, following Cyclone Pam France ordered ''Vendémiaire'' to sail from Nouméa to Vanuatu to conduct surveys along with aircraft from the island territory.

After the Cyclone Pam operations, ''Vendémiaire'' sailed to Wellington, New Zealand in April 2016 to take part in the ANZAC commemorations. In May 2016, the frigate stopped at Busan, South Korea for joint training with the Republic of Korea Navy. On 27 July 2017, the ship intercepted of cocaine from the sailing vessel ''Afalina'' off the coast of Tonga. From 17–21 February 2018, the frigate visited Incheon, South Korea, performing joint operations with the Republic of Korea Navy.

On 6 April 2019, ''Vendémiaire'' sailed through the Taiwan Strait, shadowed by Chinese naval forces. China issued a diplomatic protest after ''Vendémiaire'' allegedly violated Chinese territorial waters; France holds that the Taiwan Strait is international waters and claimed a right to freedom of navigation. ''Vendémiaire'' was subsequently absent at the celebration of the 70th anniversary of the People's Liberation Army Navy at Qingdao, which she had been scheduled to attend. In September 2019, ''Vendémiaire'' joined naval units from the Royal Australian Navy and Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force for naval exercises off the coast of Australia.

In early 2023, ''Vendémiaire'' spent three months in refit in New Zealand before returning to Noumea for the biennial international exercise Croix du Sud 2023.

In April 2024, the ship was the first French vessel to participate in a multilateral maritime exercise as part of Exercise Balikatan in the Philippines. She participated alongside , , and .

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Vendemiaire
Floréal-class frigates
1992 ships