''Courbet'' is a general purpose

stealth Stealth may refer to: Military *Stealth technology, technology used to conceal ships, aircraft, and missiles **Stealth aircraft, aircraft which use stealth technology ** Stealth ground vehicle, ground vehicles which use stealth technology ** Ste ...

frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and maneuvera ...

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 ...

(''Marine Nationale'') of the . She is the third French vessel named after the 19th-century Admiral

Amédée Courbet Anatole-Amédée-Prosper Courbet (; 26 June 1827 – 11 June 1885) was a French admiral who won a series of important land and naval victories during the Tonkin Campaign (1883–86) and the Sino-French War (August 1884 – April 1885). Early ye ...

Construction and career

''Courbet'' took part in Opération Baliste. On 3 October 2006, an Israeli

fighter aircraft Fighter aircraft (early on also ''pursuit aircraft'') are military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat. In military conflict, the role of fighter aircraft is to establish air supremacy, air superiority of the battlespace. Domina ...

penetrated her defence perimeter without responding to radio calls, triggering a diplomatic incident. Israel apologised after official protests from the French government. Throughout September the ship was involved in anti-

piracy Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and valuable goods, or taking hostages. Those who conduct acts of piracy are call ...

operations off the coast of Somalia, helping to recapture a yacht taken by pirates on 2 September. In December 2009 ''Courbet'' escorted the French Navy cruiser on her final voyage. This was last trip of the helicopter carrier that served as a floating embassy and symbol of the French Navy for 46 years. ''Jeanne d'Arc''s last voyage in company with ''Courbet'' included visits to Africa, South America including

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

, the

French Antilles The French West Indies or French Antilles (, ; ) are the parts of France located in the Antilles islands of the Caribbean: * The two Overseas department and region of France, overseas departments of: ** Guadeloupe, including the islands of Bass ...

, the United States including New York City, and Canada. The voyage was completed sometime in May 2010. During the

Libyan Civil War Demographics of Libya is the demography of Libya, specifically covering population density, ethnicity, and religious affiliations, as well as other aspects of the Libyan population. All figures are from the United Nations Demographic Yearbooks ...

, on 29 April 2011, while on patrol off

Misrata Misrata ( ; , Libyan Arabic: ; also spelled Misratah and known by the Italian spelling Misurata) is a city in northwestern Libya located in the Misrata District, situated to the east of Tripoli on the Mediterranean coast near Cape Misrata. ...

, ''Courbet'' found and engaged four loyalist

RHIB A rigid inflatable boat (RIB), also rigid-hull inflatable boat or rigid-hulled inflatable boat (RHIB), is a lightweight but high-performance and high-capacity boat constructed with a rigid hull bottom joined to side-forming air tubes that are i ...

boats laying mines, sinking one of them. In June 2020, while on patrol to counter alleged arms smuggling to Libya, France claimed that Turkish frigates illuminated ''Courbet'' three times with their fire control radar, a claim which was denied by Turkish officials. On her first operational deployment after her mid-life upgrade, ''Courbet'', operating in the

Gulf of Guinea The Gulf of Guinea (French language, French: ''Golfe de Guinée''; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Golfo de Guinea''; Portuguese language, Portuguese: ''Golfo da Guiné'') is the northeasternmost part of the tropical Atlantic Ocean from Cape Lopez i ...

in conjunction with the helicopter assault ship , was involved in the seizure of just under 2 tons of drugs in May 2022. In September 2023, while operating in the Mediterranean the frigate experienced a fire on board. Although no one was reported injured and the fire was extinguished, she as compelled to return to Toulon for evaluation and repair. The frigate was reported to have returned to sea in February 2024.

Upgrade

''Courbet'' was the first ship of her class to begin a mid-life upgrade in October 2020. The upgrade is designed to permit the frigate to operate through the 2020s and into the 2030s and incorporates the addition of hull-mounted sonar, improved point air defence systems as well as the capacity to carry the latest variant of the Exocet anti-ship missile. The frigate returned to sea in June 2021 following her upgrade. She is projected to remain in service until 2032. Going forward it was also planned to incorporate the CANTO anti-torpedo countermeasures system in the frigate.

References

External links

Marine nationale, Frégate type ''La Fayette'' Presentation-''Courbet'' (F 712)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Courbet (F712) La Fayette-class frigates Frigates of France 1994 ships