Tourville class frigate profile (to choose)

The Tourville-class frigates, named in honor of Anne Hilarion de Costentin de Tourville, a 17th-century vice-admiral and marshal of France, were designed as anti-submarine warfare vessels within the French Navy . The initial program, launched in 1968 with the laying down of the Aconit (D609), aimed to respond to the growing threat from submarines in the 1960s.

The C65, the first unit of this program, was equipped with innovative technologies such as the DUBV43 active towed sonar and the Malafon torpedo-carrying missile, considered an ultimate evolution of the T 47 class squadron escorts specialized in the fight against underwater. However, propulsion and speed challenges made the program laborious, and it was discontinued after the first unit was built.

The design was revised to give rise to the Tourville class (C67 then F67) which was specialized in anti-submarine warfare. These first-rate frigates carried an ASM Lynx helicopter and the Malafon torpedo-carrying missile, although the latter was disembarked during modernizations between 1994 and 1996. The ships were also equipped with anti-ship and anti-aircraft means, including Exocet missiles, a Crotale missile, a 100 mm cannon, 2 20 mm F2 mounts, and 4 mounts for 12.7 mm machine guns.

Some ships, such as the Tourville and the De Grasse, underwent major modernizations between 1994 and 1996, including the disembarkation of the Malafon system and the installation of the "SLASM" (Anti-Submarine Fighting System), a system of multistatic detection. However, in 1999, the Duguay-Trouin was decommissioned prematurely due to the absence of the SLASM, following a policy of reducing the number of national navy buildings.

SLASM, a multistatic detection system, involves sharing the echo return between different sensors, thus improving the location of opposing submarines. The Tourville class ships were gradually decommissioned, the De Grasse in 2013, and were replaced by the FREMM frigates, starting with Aquitaine, then Normandy. The Tourville class names are being considered for reuse for the Suffren class submarines.