According to information published by the French MoD on March 27, 2023, the French Navy's FREMM DA Lorraine has successfully fired Aster 30 missile.
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FREMM DA frigate Lorraine firing Aster 30 missile. (Picture source: French MoD)
The frigate Alsace was laid down in June 2016, launched on 18 April 2019, and commissioned on 16 April 2021. Her home port is Toulon, and her pennant number is D656.
The ship has a displacement of 6,000+ tons, with a length of 142 meters (465 ft 11 in), a beam of 20 meters (65 ft 7 in), and a draught of 7.6 meters (24 ft 11 in).
The ship is powered by MTU Series 4000 engines, with 2.2 MW each, and uses a CODLOG (COmbined Diesel-eLectric Or Gas) propulsion system. It has a top speed of 27 knots (50 km/h; 31 mph) and a maximum cruise speed of 15.6 knots (28.9 km/h; 18.0 mph). The ship has a range of 6,000 nautical miles (11,000 km; 6,900 mi) at a speed of 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph).
The ship has a complement of 145+ crew members and is equipped with advanced sensor and processing systems, including the Héraklès multi-purpose passive electronically scanned array with a range of 300 km (air) and 80 km (surface), Thales STIR EO MK 2 fire control radar, CAPTAS-4 towed-array sonar, and UMS 4110 CL hull-mounted sonar.
In terms of armament, the ship has a 76 mm Super Rapid gun, three 20 mm Narwhal remote weapon systems, a 32-cell SYLVER A50 VLS (Vertical Launching System) for Aster 15 and Aster 30 air defense missiles, eight Exocet MM40 Block 3 anti-ship missiles (with Block 3c variant entering service with the French Navy from December 2022), and two B-515 twin launchers for MU90 torpedoes.
