According to a tweet published by the JMSDF on August 29, 2022, JS Kirisame conducted a bilateral exercise “Oguri-Verny22-5” with the French Entrecasteaux class patrol ship D'Entrecasteaux.
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The Japanese destroyer JS Kirisame and the French Navy's D'Entrecasteaux class patrol ship D'Entrecasteaux. (Picture source: Japanese MoD)
The D'Entrecasteaux class is a class of oceanic patrol ships of the French Navy. The ship's designation is Bâtiment multi-mission (B2M) in French, meaning "multi-mission ship", and sometimes dubbed the "Swiss Army knife of the Navy", the type of ship is designed to perform sovereignty, law enforcement, and logistics missions from, replacing the aging BATRAL-class landing ships in this role.
The design selected for the Bâtiment multi-mission eschews the amphibious capabilities of the previous BATRAL and the L-CAT design proposed by CNIM, similar to the Engin de débarquement amphibie rapide, for a concept of platform supply vessel, or anchor handling tug supply vessel.
In line with most ship designs tasked for coastguard duty in the French Navy, the B2M will be built according to civilian standards; this was already the case notably for the Floréal class.
The hulls are built in Poland, Piriou being tasked with the design of the ship proper and the finish in Concarneau, while DCNS work on the military aspects of the project.
The ships were to displace over 1,000 tonnes, have a length between 60 and 80 meters (200 and 260 ft), and machinery capable of 8,000 to 12,000 horsepower (5,966 to 8,948 kW).
They feature a relatively low maximum speed of 12 to 15 knots (22 to 28 km/h), but are able to operate for 30 days without resupply, and are designed for a high availability of 200 days at sea per year.
To assist ships of distress, the B2M can develop a 30-tonne bollard pull and have extensive anti-fire capabilities. They furthermore feature a crane capable of lifting 12 tonnes with a 14-metre (46 ft) reach, or 10 tonnes at 17 metres (56 ft). This allows autonomous loading and unloading of standard containers, a useful capability for humanitarian operations in disaster areas.
