''Surcouf'' (F711) is a of the

French Navy The French Navy (, , ), informally (, ), is the Navy, maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the four military service branches of History of France, France. It is among the largest and most powerful List of navies, naval forces i ...

. Construction began at Lorient Naval Dockyard on 6 July 1992, launched 3 July 1993, and the ship was commissioned May 1996. Since entering service, ''Surcouf'' has taken part in numerous missions, notably in Operation Antilope (Gabon and Congo), Operation Trident (Kosovo) and Mission Khor Anga in the Djibouti zone.

Service history

On 14 May 2001, ''Surcouf'' rendered assistance to the skipper of ''Biscuits La Trinitaine-Team Ethypharm'', who had to abandon his ship after her starboard hull was seriously damaged. The catamaran's crew of five were airlifted to safety by helicopter. On 14 October 2004, ''Surcouf'' assisted ''Sara 2'', a Panamanian cargo ship which ran aground near

Yemen Yemen, officially the Republic of Yemen, is a country in West Asia. Located in South Arabia, southern Arabia, it borders Saudi Arabia to Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, the north, Oman to Oman–Yemen border, the northeast, the south-eastern part ...

. The 16-man crew was successfully airlifted by the Panther helicopter, and later transferred from the frigate to the Yemeni coast guard. Between 17 and 21 May 2008, ''Surcouf '' participated in Exercise KhunjarHaad, a multi-national exercise held in the

Gulf of Oman The Gulf of Oman or Sea of Oman ( ''khalīj ʿumān''; ''daryâ-ye omân''), also known as Gulf of Makran or Sea of Makran ( ''khalīj makrān''; ''daryâ-ye makrān''), is a gulf in the Indian Ocean that connects the Arabian Sea with th ...

. Other participating warships included the American destroyer , the British frigate , the British fleet replenishment tanker and four other coalition ships conducted air defense; surface warfare operation; visit, board, search and seizure (VBSS); and joint gunnery exercises, which focused on joint interoperability training and proficiency. In November 2012 ''Surcouf'' deployed to the

Horn of Africa The Horn of Africa (HoA), also known as the Somali Peninsula, is a large peninsula and geopolitical region in East Africa.Robert Stock, ''Africa South of the Sahara, Second Edition: A Geographical Interpretation'', (The Guilford Press; 2004), ...

as part of the European Union's Naval Operation in the area. A British Lynx HMA.8 helicopter of 815 Squadron was on board for the whole four-month deployment, along with 12 personnel including 2

Royal Marine The Royal Marines provide the United Kingdom's amphibious warfare, amphibious special operations capable commando force, one of the :Fighting Arms of the Royal Navy, five fighting arms of the Royal Navy, a Company (military unit), company str ...

snipers. This was the first extended deployment of a

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

helicopter on a French warship and was the result of a treaty between the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

and

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

to share military resources and conduct more joint operations. During a 2017–18 refit, the frigate was equipped with a Thales Bluewatcher sonar as part of a two-year trial that was subsequently extended through 2022. ''Surcouf'' was the first ''La Fayette''-class ship to receive an active sonar capability. In 2021, ''Surcouf'' deployed to the Pacific accompanying the French Navy helicopter assault ship . In April 2022, ''Surcouf'', with a Panther helicopter embarked, again deployed to the Indian Ocean to relieve her sister ship . From 26 until 30 May 2022, ''Surcouf'' trained with the

Kuwait Naval Force The Kuwait Naval Force (Arabic: القوة البحرية الكويتية romanized: ''Al-Quwwat Al-Bahriyah Al-Kuwaitiyah''), is the sea-based component of the Kuwait Armed Forces. The headquarters and sole naval base is Mohammed Al-Ahmad K ...

. In October 2023 ''Surcouf'' was deployed to the Eastern Mediterranean during the

Gaza war The Gaza war is an armed conflict in the Gaza Strip and southern Israel fought since 7 October 2023. A part of the unresolved Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Israeli–Palestinian and Gaza–Israel conflict, Gaza–Israel conflicts dating ...

, joining the helicopter assault ship ''Tonnerre'' and the frigate which were also deployed to the region. ''Surcouf'' had been scheduled to undergo a modest structural and technical upgrade (with the elderly Crotale SAM to be removed from the vessel) and, given somewhat reduced general purpose capability, be re-assigned to offshore patrol duties prior to her planned withdrawal from service in 2027. However, subsequently it was decided to retain the ship in the frigate role despite her not having received a mid-life upgrade.

References

Sources

Frégate ''Surcouf''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Surcouf, French frigate La Fayette-class frigates Frigates of France 1993 ships Ships built in France