French DGA Takes Delivery of First Force Supply Vessel

The French Directorate General of Armaments (DGA) has received the first of four planned Replenishment Vessels built for the French Navy under the FLOTLOG program.

The Bâtiment Ravitailleur de Forces (BRF) Jacques Chevallier was handed over to the DGA at Toulon naval base on July 18.

A contract for the said four vessels was awarded in January 2019 to Chantiers de l'Atlantique and Naval Group. The vessels will be delivered successively until 2029.

The FLOTLOG program is part of a Franco-Italian cooperation led by OCCAR on behalf of the DGA and its Italian counterpart NAVARM, within the Logistic Support Ship (LSS) program.

The program aims to replace the current single-hull oil tankers of the French Navy, which entered service in the 1970s and 1980s, with modern vessels with a double hull, compliant with the best international standards, and with supply and support.

In addition to having a greater payload capacity than their predecessors, these ships will benefit from better tactical capabilities and advanced technologies. In particular, they will be equipped with the new 40mm RAPIDFire artillery system developed by Thales and KNDS in co-contracting, the first Syracuse IV “Command” antennas and the SIMBAD RC system. They will also have the new system against asymmetric threats provided by Naval Group.