Prairial (F 731)

''Prairial'' is a (french: frégate de surveillance) of the French Navy. She is the second ship of the class, and the second French warship named after the ninth month of the Republican Calendar. The ship was constructed by Chantiers de l'Atlantique at Saint-Nazaire, France, in 1992 and entered service in 1993. ''Prairial'' 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.

''Prairial'' 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-electrical generators located just fore and aft of the machinery room. ''Prairial'' has a maximum speed of and a range of at .

''Prairial'' 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 November 2022, the Eurocopter Dauphin N3 was earmarked to replace the Aérospatiale Alouette III on ''Prairial''. 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

''Prairial'' was ordered as part of the first pair on 20 January 1989 from Chantiers de l'Atlantique for construction at their yard in Saint-Nazaire, France, and the keel was laid down on 11 September 1990. The frigate was built using modular construction methods which reduced the vessel's construction time. ''Prairial'' was launched on 16 March 1991 and commissioned into the French Navy on 20 May 1992. Following sea trials, ''Prairial'' sailed for Arsenal de Lorient, Lorient where the weapons and sensors were installed and underwent further trials.

After entering service, ''Prairial'' was assigned to the French Pacific territories, based at Tahiti. ''Prairial'' was deployed to East Timor as part of the Australian-led INTERFET peacekeeping taskforce from 16 October to 29 November 1999.

On 13 February 2016, the frigate intercepted a , Panamanian-flagged sailboat in Pacific waters. Three crew members were arrested and of cocaine was seized. In July 2016, ''Prairial'' participated in RIMPAC 2016, a large multi-national naval exercise off the coast of Hawaii, as the only representative of the European Union.

From 27 July to 2 August 2018, the frigate took part in RIMPAC 2018. In March 2019, ''Prairial'' intercepted of cocaine after a panga was spotted adrift off the coast of Nicaragua in international waters.

On 22 February 2021, ''Prairial'' was deployed from February to March 2021 in the East China Sea to assist in enforcing UN sanctions against North Korea. On 10 March 2021, ''Prairial'' reported suspicious illegal ship-to-ship transfers of oil, which was announced by the French Pacific Command (ALPACI).

In June 2022, ''Prairial'' sailed to Hawaii for the naval exercise RIMPAC 2022. On 17 July 2022, a helicopter from ''Prairial'' assisted in evacuating two seriously injured sailors from the Peruvian corvette to a United States Coast Guard ship during RIMPAC 2022, after the corvette suffered a significant fire during operations. Late in the year, the frigate (with its new Dauphin helicopter embarked) undertook a 36-day deployment in the South Pacific which included exercises with the Chilean Navy and patrol of the British exclusive maritime zone around the Pitcairn Islands.

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Prairial
Floréal-class frigates
1991 ships