French Navy Languedoc Heads To The Gulf
As of now the French Navy currently has the Horizon class frigate Forbin deployed to the Arabian Gulf as part to the European mission to ensure the safety of maritime vessels & protect European interest in the region.
However, Forbin is due to be replaced in the region by FREMM frigate Languedoc. The Languedoc will operate alongside HNLMS De Ruyter which is also part of the European Union mission. This is in addition to the already permanent presence of the US Navy & Royal Navy in the region ensuring maritime security in an area that has become increasingly volatile since the start of this year.
While the EU EMASOH initiative military assets only consist of the vessels deployed by the Netherlands & France the mission has personal from a variety of European nations including:
Germany
Greece
France
Netherlands
Belgium
Denmark
Italy
Portugal
The French Navy has recently released a statement confirming that the frigate Languedoc had reached the Indian Ocean.
“ The multi-mission frigate Languedoc has just joined the Indian Ocean to raise the air defense frigate Forbin. Its mission: to protect interests of the European Union in the Strait of Hormuz as part of Operation AGENOR”
About the Languedoc
The Languedoc comes equipped with a wide variety of offensive capabilities & countermeasures. It is equipped with anti-ship capabilities which include Exocet block 3 missiles.
The vessel also comes equipped with the Scalp cruise missile or as it is known in the UK The Stormshadow. This missile first saw action by being fired on the attack on Syrian chemical weapons facilities in 2018.
For air defense, the vessel is armed with Aster 15 missiles. The main gun on the vessel is the OTO Melara 76mm which is a capable & widely used weapon by many European naval forces.
In addition to all of this, the vessel also has the option to carry a number of MU90 torpedoes & an NH90 helicopter.