La Fayette-class frigate

	The French frigate Surcouf
Class overview
Name	La Fayette class
Builders	DNCS
Operators	French Navy; Royal Saudi Navy; Republic of China Navy; Republic of Singapore Navy;
Preceded by	Floréal class
Succeeded by	Frégates de taille intermédiaire (starting in 2024)
Subclasses	Al Riyadh class (Saudi Arabia); Formidable class (Singapore); Kang Ding class (ROC Taiwan);
In commission	1996–present
Completed	20
Active	20
General characteristics
Type	General purpose frigate
Displacement	3,200 t (3,100 long tons); 3,800 t (3,700 long tons) fully loaded;
Length	125 m (410 ft 1 in)
Beam	15.4 m (50 ft 6 in)
Draught	4.1 m (13 ft 5 in)
Propulsion	4 diesel SEMT Pielstick 12PA6V280 STC2, 21,000 hp (16,000 kW)
Speed	25 kn (46 km/h; 29 mph)
Range	4,000 nmi (7,400 km; 4,600 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph); 9,000 nmi (17,000 km; 10,000 mi) at 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph);
Endurance	50 days of food
Boats & landing ; craft carried	2 × ETN boats
Capacity	350 t (390 short tons) of fuel, 80 m3 (2,800 cu ft) of kerosene, 60 t (66 short tons) of potable water
Complement	164+; around 6 additional personnel on Courbet, La Fayette and Aconit post-upgrade
Sensors and ; processing systems	1 × DRBN34 navigation radar; 1 × DRBN34 landing radar; 1 × Air/Surface DRBV 15C sentry radar; 1 × Thales TAVITAC combat management system (fitted to Surcouf and Guépratte); 1 × SENIT FLF combat management system (replaced previous Thales TAVITAC CMS on La Fayette, Courbet and Aconit); 1 × firing control radar for the 100 mm gun; 1 × CN2 firing control radar; 1 × Saïgon ARBG 1 radio interceptor; 1 × ARBR 21 radar interceptor; 2 × Dagaie Mk2 AMGL-1C chaff launcher; CANTO anti-torpedo countermeasures (fitted to La Fayette in 2021-22 and Aconit in 2023; to be fitted to Courbet in due course); 1 × AN/SLQ-25 Nixie tugged noise maker; 1 × Prairie-Masker noise reduction system; 1 × Integrated Shipboard Communication System ISCS (SNTI 120 ch.); 1 × SEAO/OPSMER Naval command support system; 1 × Syracuse II satellite transmission system; 1 × Inmarsat navigation system; 1 × BlueWatcher sonar (Surcouf only); 1 × KingKlip Mk 2 hull-mounted sonar (fitted to Courbet, La Fayette and Aconit);
Armament	Guns;; 1 × 100 mm TR automatic gun; 2 × 20 mm modèle F2 guns; Anti-ship;; 8 × Exocet MM40 block II anti-ship missiles (upgraded to capacity for Block 3c variant on Courbet, La Fayette and Aconit); CIWS;; 1 × Crotale CN2 CIWS (fitted on Surcouf and Guépratte); 2 × 6 Sadral launchers with Mistral Mk 3 SAM/SSM (replaced Crotale on Courbet, La Fayette and Aconit); 2 x 2 manually operated Simbad/Mistral (reported fit to Surcouf in 2023);
Armour	On sensitive areas (munition magazine and control centre)
Aircraft carried	1 × helicopter (Panther or NH90)

The La Fayette class (also known as FL-3000 for "Frégate Légère de 3,000 tonnes", or FLF for Frégate Légère Furtive) is a class of general purpose frigates built by DCNS in the 1980s/90s and still operated by the French Navy today. Derivatives of the type are in service in the navies of Saudi Arabia, Singapore, and Taiwan.

The ships were originally known as "stealth frigates" due to their unique stealth design at the time. Their reduced radar cross section is achieved by a clean superstructure compared to conventional designs, angled sides and radar absorbent material, a composite material of wood and glass fibre as hard as steel, light, and resistant to fire. Most modern combat ships built since the introduction of the La Fayette class have followed the same principles of stealth.

All information gathered by the onboard sensors is managed by the Information Processing System, the electronic brain of the operation centre of the ship. It is completed by an electronic command aid system.

The ships are designed to accommodate a 10-tonne (9.8-long-ton) helicopter in the Panther or NH90 range (though they are also capable of operating the Super Frelon and similar heavy helicopters). These helicopters can carry anti-ship missiles AM39 or AS15, and they can be launched during sea state five or six due to the Samahé helicopter handling system. France ordered five ships of the La Fayette class in 1988, the last of which entered service in 2001. In the French Navy, they will be incrementally superseded in "first-rank" functions by five frégates de taille intermédiaire (FTI, "intermediate size frigates") from 2024.

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