The French Navy Lafayette Class frigate arrived in Malta Tuesday afternoon after conducting training along with the Armed Forces of Malta and US Navy destroyer USS Ross off shore Valletta.
The La Fayette type frigates (FLF) are multi-purpose fighting warships meant to protect and enforce national interests in overseas maritime areas, as well as participate in crisis resolution outside of Europe.
They may be called upon to support an intervention force, commercial traffic protection, special operations, or humanitarian missions in this situation.
Normally a AS-565 Panther anti-ship helicopter and its detachment are always onboard these ships.
The FLFs participate preferentially in the operational action mission by carrying out maritime surveillance, intelligence, special forces implementation, or integration into a task force in a crisis zone, but they can also intervene within the framework of maritime safeguards depending on circumstances.
Three of them are undergoing a renovation-upgrading program from 2020 to 2023 in order to keep the operational contract until the defense and intervention frigates arrive. The FLF will gain anti-submarine warfare capabilities as a result of the upgrading, which includes the inclusion of a hull sonar.
The FLF Aconit was admitted to active service on June 3, 1999.
