French frigate Aquitaine

For other ships with the same name, see French ship Aquitaine.

Aquitaine moored in Bordeaux in 2013
History
France
Name	Aquitaine
Builder	DCNS, Lorient
Laid down	2007
Launched	29 April 2010
Completed	2012
Commissioned	23 November 2012
Identification	Pennant number D650
Status	Active
General characteristics
Class & type	Aquitaine-class frigate
Displacement	6,000 tons
Length	466 ft (142.0 m)
Beam	65 ft (19.8 m)
Draught	16 ft (4.9 m)
Sensors & processing systems	Héraklès multi-purpose passive electronically scanned array radar CAPTAS-4 towed-array sonar UMS 4110 CL hull-mounted sonar
Armament	1 x 76 mm Super Rapid gun 3 x 20 mm Narwhal remote weapon systems 16-cell SYLVER A43 VLS for Aster 15 air defense missiles 16-cell SYLVER A70 VLS for MdCN cruise missiles 8 x Exocet MM40 Block 3 anti-ship missiles (Block 3c variant entering service with the French Navy from December 2022) 2 x B-515 twin launchers for MU90 torpedoes

Aquitaine is a frigate in service with the French Navy. She is the lead ship of her class of French frigates, which in turn were developed by the FREMM multipurpose frigate program.

Service

Aquitaine was developed as part of a joint Franco-Italian program known as FREMM, which was implemented to develop a new class of frigates for use by various European navies. Construction on the ship began in 2007 and was completed in 2012.

In April 2018 Aquitaine participated in the April 2018 missile strikes against Syria alongside her sister ships Auvergne and Languedoc.

In July 2026, Aquitaine deployed to Dublin Bay to provide air-defence coverage for visiting European heads of government during Ireland's Presidency of the Council of the European Union. To comply with constitutional restrictions regarding foreign military operations within Irish territory, the frigate remained stationed just beyond Ireland's 12-nautical-mile (22 km) territorial waters. An Irish Naval Service officer was embarked aboard the ship as a liaison to provide final authorisation under Irish Defence Forces rules of engagement (COD 6) in the event of an interception or engagement over Irish airspace.