 Forbin on 21 May 2021 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 France | |
| Name | Forbin |
| Namesake | Claude Forbin-Gardanne |
| Ordered | 27 October 2000 |
| Builder | DCNS andThales Group,Lorient shipyard |
| Cost | USD$770 million[1] |
| Laid down | 16 January 2004 |
| Launched | 10 March 2005 |
| Christened | 2008 |
| Commissioned | 14 October 2010 |
| Homeport | Toulon |
| Identification |
|
| Status | Active |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | Horizon-classfrigate |
| Displacement | 7,050 tonnes [2] |
| Length | 152.87 m (501 ft 7 in) |
| Beam | 20.3 m (66 ft 7 in) |
| Draught | 5.4 m (17 ft 9 in) |
| Propulsion |
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| Speed |
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| Range |
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| Boats & landing craft carried | EDO, 20-seat EFRC, Hurricane 733 |
| Capacity | 32 passengers or admiral's staff |
| Complement |
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| Sensors & processing systems |
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| Electronic warfare & decoys | |
| Armament |
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| Aircraft carried | 1 ×NH90 helicopter |
Forbin (D620) is a large anti-airfrigate[5] of theFrench Navy, lead ship of theHorizon class. Her first task is protecting aircraft carriers, capital ships or civilian ships from supersonic missile attacks; her complement of medium-range anti-air missiles allows her to support the defences of another ship under attack and avoid their saturation. She is also capable of monitoring and controlling operations carried out from the sea by friendly aircraft.[6]Forbin is the sixth vessel of the French Navy named after the 17th century admiralClaude Forbin-Gardanne.
Construction ofForbin began inLorient on 8 April 2002. The hull was built in 14 sections by a variety of subcontractors of DCN, including several companies from Saint-Nazaire. Each section was 7 metres (23 ft) high, and 16–20 metres (52–66 ft) long.Forbin was laid down on 16 January 2004; the hull sections were transferred from Saint-Nazaire to Lorient on a barge tugged byAlcyon and assembled there from February 2004 to January 2005, finishing with the bow. The engines were delivered byFiatAvio in September.
Forbin was launched on 10 March 2005, after part of theScorff river was dredged to make it deep enough for her draught. She was towed out of her building dock by four tugboats at 16:15, taking advantage of the tide. On 28 October,Forbin entered dry dock and underwater equipment was installed, notably the sonar, propellers and rudders.
Trials were held throughout 2006. Engine tests started on 10 May, and she sailed for sea trials on 29 June. Tuning of the combat management systems was particularly problematic, setting the completion of the ship off-schedule enough for her commissioning to be delayed by several months. In late January 2007,Forbin underwent new extensive trials at sea, successfully testing her combat systems in exercises againstSuper Étendard andAtlantique 2 aircraft. ThePAAMS was tested in late May at theCentre d'Essais des Landes. From 12 to 17,Forbin sailed toToulon, her new home port, where her combat, detection and weapon systems were further finetuned.Forbin fired an Aster 30 at the test range of the DGA on 25 November.
Forbin left Toulon on 3 March 2009 for her first long cruise, visiting Morocco, the United States and Canada. She carried aPanther from Squadron 36F of theAéronavale to validate her air installations.Forbin sailed toCasablanca, and then toRio de Janeiro. She left Brazil on 30 March, bound forMartinique, where she arrived on 21 April.[7] and sailed on toNorfolk, Virginia andNew York, arriving on 24 April. During the transit, she carried out exercises withUSS Forrest Sherman.[8] A visit toHalifax was cancelled.Forbin was back to France in May, where she took part in the naval parade of 8 May offSainte-Maxime. On 25 May, she was at Abu Dhabi. In June,Forbin operated with theDwight D. Eisenhowercarrier group, supporting "Operation Enduring Freedom" and maritime security operations.
The frigateForbin was part of the French naval task group led by theaircraft carrierCharles de Gaulle that departed Toulon on 30 October 2010 for a four-month deployment to the Mediterranean Sea,Red Sea, Indian Ocean. andPersian Gulf.[9][10] The task group commander, Rear Admiral Jean-Louis Kerignard, defined force's mission as follows:
Once on station, theCharles de Gaulle carrier task group joined twoU.S. Navy carrier strike groups led by theNimitz-classsupercarriersUSS Abraham Lincoln andUSS Harry S. Truman operating in the Persian Gulf.[citation needed] Subsequently, between 7–14 January 2011, the French carrier task group led byCharles de Gaulle participated with bilateral naval exercise, code namedVaruna 10, with theIndian Navy. Indian naval units participating in Varuna 10 included theCentaur-class aircraft carrierViraat, theGodavari-class frigatesGodavari andGanga; and theShishumar-classdiesel-electric submarineShalki. Varuna 10 was a two-phase naval exercise, with the harbor phase taking place between 7–11 January and the sea phase between 11–14 January in theArabian Sea.[10]
Forbin participated in the French-led POLARIS 21 exercise.[11][12]
Forbin deployed as part of Clemenceau 22 led by the carrierCharles de Gaulle.[13]
Forbin formed a part of the carrier strike group (CSG) centred onCharles de Gaulle during the Mission Clemenceau 25 deployment that began on 28 November 2024.[14][15]
On 5 January 2025,Forbin andAlsace arrived atKochi Port. While the rest of the components of the CSG includingCharles de Gaulle docked inMormugao Port Trust Jetty,Goa, on 4 January . The CSG remained in India until 9 January.[16][17][18] On 9 January,Forbin conducted combat manoeuvres and cross-deck helicopter deployment withINS Mormugao while departing from India joined the French CSG and her escort ships and fleet support ship during their departure from Goa andKochi for the next phase of Mission Clemenceau 25 in the Indian and Pacific oceans. She participated in joint navigational drills andMaritime Partnership Exercise.[19][20] On 12 January,Forbin docked atSwettenham Pier inGeorge Town, the capital city of theMalaysian state ofPenang, as part of Clemenceau 25.[21][22] During the stopover, the crew attended a ceremony honouring the French sailors killed in theBattle of Penang.[22][23] The CSG is en route toSoutheast Asia to join a multinational maritime security exercise, codenamed "La Perouse", alongside the navies ofMalaysia,Singapore,Australia,Canada, India,United Kingdom and the United States.[22]
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