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Radar footprint:
The French are known to have pioneered the long-range radar-resistant design techniques in their ships that first appeared in the famous frigate La Fayette-class Frigate in the mid-1990s, where they relied on reduced substitutions in the Superstructure and scattered angles to disrupt radar radiation, With the use of the RAM Radar Absorbent Material, as well as the use of mixed composite materials of fibreglass, wood and other materials that have the hardness of the metal with light weight and fire resistance. It also buried and hid weapons and electronic sensors in the ship's structure. Since then, most world countries have been following the same design in producing their new combat vessels.
And of course, based on their expertise and long-term experience in this field, the French excelled in creating the stealth design of the FREMM frigate giving it a streamlined design and more absorbent materials and dispersion of radar radiation.
Thermal footprint:
Just as with the radar footprint, the frigate has an integrated capability to reduce and isolate thermal emissions through the sun-absorbent heat-absorbing coating which cause the outer structure temperature to rise, as well as the use of dual-structure construction technology so that there is an internal second layer of structure separate from the outer layer.. Its task is to isolate thermal emissions and prevent them from reaching the outer layer.
The engine itself is cooled by seawater to reduce its thermal emissions with complete filtering of its emissions and the separation of non-toxic materials and discharge from dedicated slots in the bottom of the ship and the rest of the toxic substances are discharged from the chimney.
Sound footprint:
The Frigate is considered as a first class silent submarine submarine and is already dedicated to this type of task (ASW Anti-Submarine Warfare, the same as the Egyptian version) thanks to the integrated diesel and gas diesel engines CODLAG Combined Diesel-Electric & Gas where the conveyors and electric motors are connected to the propellers of the ship, giving it the ability to rotate at the lowest rate of vibrations and therefore a very low sound signal, The only navies using this IEP (Integrated Electric Propulsion) technology and its new derivatives are the French Navy (FREMM frigates), the British Navy (Type-23 frigates, Type-45 destroyers, F-125), Italian Navy (FREMM), American Navy (Zumwalt) and German Navy (F-125 frigates). It also features economical operating costs as well as fewer maintenance times.
There are also the latest technologies used to kill the bubbles caused by the movement of the blades of the propellers of the ship, through the bottom slots of the ship, which triggers additional bubbles that hit the bubbles caused by the rotation of the blades to cancel each other, and this advanced technology works only on French FREMM frigates and Meko ( In the future) and the German F-125 and the Russians are currently testing them.
Magnetic footprint:
The FREMM frigate Like other modern warships, benefits from Deperming / Degaussing by using a metal coil (brass) that surrounds the structure of the ship with an electric current that eliminates the magnetic field produced by the result of the lattice of the minerals in the structure of the vessel. This helps to escape high sensors MAD (Magnetic Anomaly Detector), which is found in marine patrol aircrafts and helicopters as well as marine magnetic mines, since the minerals involved in the installation of ship structures are known to inherently create a magnetic field with the movement of the vessel as a result of the interaction Magneto-mechanical with the magnetic field of the earth because these minerals originate from the core of earth itself, thus generating a clear magnetic footprint of the ship.. This technology is available to the makers of warships around the world.
Visual Footprint:
Like other modern warships, the FREMM frigate has a small height above sea level and a design that ensures a not large size with the use of special types of non-reflective coatings and colours suited to the marine environment to reduce detection opportunities by marine electro-optical monitoring systems on board ships, aircrafts and submarines.
The second point, which can not be disputed, is that the FREMM frigate is considered the best in submarine warfare in view of the very low-noise engine features, as mentioned in the acoustic footprint. In addition, the ship has two sonar systems considered to be the best and most powerful anti-submarine sonar systems.. they are:
- Thales UMS 4110 CL Sonar installed below the front of the ship structure, this sonar works in passive and active modes for long range detection in various conditions even the bad ones, and searches for submarines in a 360 ° angle around the vessel as well as for underwater obstacles at a 90 ° angle in front of the vessel.
- CAPTAS 4 is a passive and active type of Sonar lowered from the Ship and towed.. it detects submarines with slow speeds and stealth features up to 350 meters below sea level..It provides a 360 degree detection angle, works in the worst of marine conditions and works in conjunction with the Thales UMS 4110 CL sonar installed below the front of the vessel structure. The Egyptian Gowind Corvette will receive its light version CAPTAS 2 as it is intended for ships with a displacement of less than 3000 tons.
On top of these systems, there is the highly advanced NH-90 NFH naval helicopter, which is one of the best anti-submarine helicopters in the world, equipped with radar and sonar systems as well as high precision and sensitivity sensors to detect submarines and ships.
It is also noteworthy that the frigate is an excellent naval platform with great potential to accommodate any future electronic or weapon upgrades or additions, thanks to its large 6,000-ton displacement, which allows it to carry more load without problems, with its latest electronic systems equipment to be upgraded and integrated with future systems like the new Sea Fire 500 radar which is similar to the US / AN-SPY-1 radar operating within the AEGIS system on American warships, and the Aster 30 missiles for long-range air defense, or any other systems.
Conclusion
The FREMM frigate is a technological masterpiece by all measures, from its structural design through its internal living conditions and equipments, and ending with its electronic systems and combat capabilities..
*The air defense version (AAW) is called "FREMM FREDA" where FREDA refers to the phrase "Fregates de Défense Aériennes", also known as the "ER Extended Range" with long-range air defense missiles.
Compiled from different sources..
