The hull of the small ship, withdrawn from active service this year, was broken in two before sinking at a depth of more than 4,000 meters. Such a naval live fire exercise had not been carried out for twenty years.
This time, the First Master L’Her will not have resisted. On December 14, the hull of the old class aviso D’Estienne d’Orves in service in the French Navy from 1981 to 2024, was broken in two by the test firing of a heavy F-21 torpedo carried out by a nuclear attack submarine (SNA), then sank by more depth of 4,000 meters, the French Navy announced this Tuesday, December 17 in a press release. “Straight to the point”reacted Admiral Nicolas Vaujour, the Chief of Staff of the National Navy, who mentions “the success of the first shot in real conditions” of this ammunition intended to equip the latest SNA Ruby still in service and the new Suffrenas well as the nuclear submarines (SSBN) of the Strategic Oceanic Force dedicated to nuclear deterrence.
“Integrated into scenarios adapted to new threats”what a shot “testifies to the high level of preparation of the Navy, in a context of intensifying conflicts and the complexity of aero-maritime operations”explained the admiral in a message shared on social networks. This firing was carried out as part of the POLARIS strategy developed from 2021 by his predecessor at CEMM, Admiral Vandier, to adapt exercises and prepare forces for high-intensity combat.
“Getting as close as possible to reality”
It was not a “test torpedo”but of a “torpedo equipped with a military charge”capable of destroying both surface and submarine threats, specifies the Navy in its press release. Developed by Naval Group from 2008, this new generation weapon, 6 meters long, adapted to the standard 533 mm tubes of submarines and carrying a load of 200 kg, presents “a level of stealth, range, strike speed and detection capabilities superior to previous weapons”in particular to the F-17 torpedo which it is called upon to replace.
This exercise is far from trivial for the Royal. The French Navy had not fired live ammunition against a surface ship since 2004, when the light transport vessel (BATRAL) Champlain had been sunk off the coast of Martinique. Also that year, another former aviso, the Commander Bory had served as a shooting target after having served as a breakwater in Brest. This shot “comes as close as possible to reality, and provides unprecedented human and operational lessons. The complexity and demands of the environment in which the participants evolved reinforce the pugnacity of the crews and nourish tactical reflections on the war of tomorrow.explains the Navy which greets the sailors in its press release with a traditional «BZ» (pour “Bravo Zulu”or “Congratulations” in naval jargon).
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Test firing presents no danger to the environment. “The hull, which had been completely cleaned and secured”said Admiral Vaujour.
The “shipwreck” of Chief Master L’Her also symbolizes the gradual withdrawal of avisos from the class D’Estienne d’Orveswhich marked the history of the French Navy for half a century. The head-of-class unit was commissioned in 1976, and five (of the 17 built for the Royale) are still in service (for over 40 years!). Little known to sailors for their comfort – and that’s an understatement – these rustic and enduring 1,200-ton ships, based in Toulon and Brest, were «DIY» over the years, to the point that none are truly identical to the others. From 2011, having reduced part of their armaments, they were «requalified» in offshore patrol boats. But if something deeply unites them, it is their names: all were named in homage to resistance sailors, starting with the hero of Free France, the frigate captain Honoré d’Estienne d’Orves. Officers, but also petty officers – the «sous-off» of the navy – like Jean-François L’Her, who died for France on May 24, 1940.
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