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Exploring the frigate Forbin
18/03/2008

Three years after its launch, the air defense frigate Forbin joined its home port yesterday. Having left Lorient (Brittany) last Wednesday, where it was built by DCNS, this imposing, 153 meter long ship displacing 7000 tons full load arrived this morning in Toulon. However, Forbin is not yet operational. Still under DCNS's control, it will undertake in the coming months many tests aimed, in particular, at completing the development of its combat system and its main weapons system, PAAMS. If all goes well, the French Navy will take possession in September and Forbin will enter service in 2009.

Lead ship of the Franco-Italian Horizon class, Forbin is the first frigate in the French navy to be realized through multinational cooperation. "The co-operation is very strong. The French and Italians shared the studies equally. A common office manages the program, whose calendar overlaps in both countries. . Thus, common teams jump from the ships built in France to those built in Italy," explains Nicolas Gaspard, DCNS's head of the Horizon program.

A joint company was created to manage the program, launched on October 27, 2000. Evenly owned by DCNS and Orizzonte (Fincantieri and Finmeccanica), Horizon SAS has signed four large contracts with industry. The first, bearing on the project management and development work, was entrusted to DCNS and Fincantieri. The second, related to the development and production of the combat system, was placed with Eurosysnav, a joint venture of DCNS (DCN and Thales in the beginning) and Finmeccanica. Finally, two contracts for the construction of the two French and two Italian units were signed, with DCNS and Fincantieri respectively.

Whereas the Italian frigates were built at the Riva Trigoso shipyards, close to Genoa, Forbin and Chevalier Paul, were built at DCNS, in Lorient. In order to optimize the Franco-Italian teams, the four Horizon follow at close intervals, with only six months separating each ship. For example, a forty person bi-national team works on the development of the combat system for all four ships.

Lessons learned from the Falklands, Iran-Irak and Lebanon

France, Italy and Great Britain started looking for replacements for their air defense ships in 1990. The French Navy sought successors for the Suffren (1968) and Duquesne (1970) frigates. It also needed to consider replacing the Cassard (1988) and Jean Bart (1990) frigates. Although brand new, these frigates were equipped with the aging Tartar main weapons system and SM1-MR missiles. The three countries sought to cooperate and define their operational needs in order to reduce the costs of such an expensive program. Even though London later withdrew from the cooperation on the platform in 1999, the United Kingdom maintained its participation on the principal weapons system (Principal Anti Air System Missile - PAAMS) which will equip future Horizons and Type 45s.

The British stressed the lessons learned from the Falklands conflict (1982). During the retaking of the islands, the Royal Navy was exposed to air raids in a littoral area that ultimately cost it several ships, such as HMS Sheffield, Coventry, Ardent and Antelope. The French, meanwhile, had realized the importance of air defense escort to protect commercial shipping during the Iran-Iraq war. "The goal was to be able to maintain a protective bubble in an unfavorable environment, with very short warning and without saturating the system", explains Forbin's CO, Captain Christophe Balducchi.

The validity of this requirement, born out of old conflicts and crises, was confirmed off Lebanon during the summer of 2006. After an Israeli corvette was seriously damaged by a shore-launched missile, France sent Cassard to protect the 199 meter long helicopter carrier and command ship Mistral. The frigate acted as Mistral's watchdog, by setting an anti-missile "umbrella". This was in line with the Horizon's main mission, which will be the protection of high value assets, such as aircraft carriers, helicopter carriers or task forces of less armed ships. The new air defense frigates will nevertheless offer much higher capabilities than their elders.

Air control center and defense of entrance points

The allied interventions in ex-Yugoslavia during the 90s showed the need to control airspace from the sea. With hundreds of military aircraft coming from various bases (ashore or aboard aircraft carriers), navies operating in the Adriatic required powerful communications and information systems, as well as data links allowing the sharing of large amounts of data. In addition, the Horizons have to be capable of ensuring air safety and in particular the defense of "entrance points", for example during meetings of heads of states. This mission must take into account the considerable development of air transportation and the difficulty of detecting a threat in an increasingly dense civilian traffic. At the same time, the frigate must follow the moves of a naval task force and have a clear picture of the situation on and underneath the surface.

In sum, the ship's crew must have a complete picture of the operations theatre, which was not for the case in the Falklands for example. For that purpose, Forbin is equipped with a "super-brain", the Combat Management System (CMS), articulated around about 20 workstations. The majority are located in the Operations Center, located behind the bridge. "The CMS functions on a redundant network, with completely reconfigurable workstations. The workstations provide situational awareness thanks to the ship's onboard sensors but also thanks to external sensors, such as those on a patrol plane, which transmits its information via datalinks, " Nicolas Gaspard explains.

A technological wonder, the Horizon's combat system includes 22 software modules, 20 workstations, 10 processing units and 1 million lines of codes. It allows the crew to manage the weapons, datalinks and information received from ten sensors, while integrating the data coming from other ships or aircraft, both French and allied. Only 20 to 25 people are needed to run it.

An emergency Operations Center

According to the mission, alert status and the operator's skills level, each workstation can tailor its tasks. "The workstations allow us to control all the different equipments. The long range search radar can be controlled from any workstation. The advantage is that we can reconfigure the workstation to allot it more or less complicated tasks according to the operator's experience", explains the head of the combat system team, Daniel Pioux of DCNS. He adds that the Operations Center is much less cluttered than aboard older ships. "There used to be ten workstations and desks to control the weapons. Now, there are only equipment boxes for the torpedoes and Exocet missiles. The Operations Center is much more modular and there are relatively few small boxes". Along those lines, the traditional tactical table, with its paper charts, has been replaced by a wall-mounted flat screen (all the same, a back-up chart table is included). Typically, several workstations will be assigned to the air situation, one to the surface situation, one to anti-submarine warfare, another to coordinating data links and, finally, several workstations will be in charge of the managing the weapons and the electronic warfare suite.

Forbin is also designed to accommodate an allied command staff, which can use a crisis control room equipped with a workstation. This workstation enables the staff to follow, in real time, the evolution of the tactical situation. Similarly, another workstation is installed on the bridge.

Forbin presents an innovation compared to ships of older generations. In order to reduce its vulnerability, an emergency command center is set-up in the stern. Equipped with three workstations, it can take over in the event that the main Operations Center is destroyed or damaged.. The frigate is able, with only three workstations available, to continue to defend itself and to return to port. "The system is very redundant and offers many reconfigurations so that it can remain operational in the event of damage or of degraded situation", underlines Nicolas Gaspard.

Roissy-CDG airport controlled from Lorient

Much like an airport's control tower, the Operation's Center will manage air traffic. The Horizons have a S 1850 long-range 3D search radar developed by Thales. Located on the stern mast, it can detect a target at more than 400 kilometers. For example, during trials off Lorient, the operators could easily follow flights landing at Roissy-CDG, near Paris. The long-range radar is not, obviously, the frigate's only sensor. Located at the very top of the main mast, 7 decks above the bridge, the Empar 3D multifunction radar provided by Finmeccanica provides fire control for the Aster missiles.

Thanks to the power of its combat system and the performances of its radars, Forbin can track hundreds of targets and engage several simultaneously. "The challenge is to know, with certainty, what one is shooting at. Ammunition is limited and it is necessary to avoid collateral damage". The radars' performance combined with the CMS's computing power make it possible to locate in a very short lapse of time a possible threat, even hidden in very dense air traffic. After sorting out airliners and military aircraft and friends from foes, using IFF and military signals, the frigate will be able to engage hostile targets. "In additional to the frigate, Awacs air force planes or Hawkeyes from carriers track all air targets. Known airliners and friendly military jets are identified. Then there's what's left", explains Nicolas Gaspard.

Capable of carrying 64 Aster missiles

The Principal Anti Air Missile System (PAAMS), developed with the British and the Italians, is intended for the Horizons but also for the Royal Navy's Type 45s. PAAMS is built around 16 Aster 15 and 32 Aster 30 missiles. A contingency space located forwards of the silos allows for 16 more missiles in the future. Produced by European group MBDA, these missiles have ranges of 30 and 70 kilometers respectively. "The Aster is an extremely powerful missile that fulfils the air defense concept. It is very maneuverable, with thrust vectoring that allows it to move laterally and engage the most modern missiles ", explains Nicolas Gaspard. It is also a "hyperspeed" missile, capable of intercepting sea-skimming, maneuvrable anti-ship missiles with steep final dives.

The Aster comes in eight-cell Sylver launchers, the A43 (Aster 15) and A50 (Aster 30). This equipment is produced by DCNS at Ruelle, close to Angouleme (Charente). "The Sylver system is extremely complicated. Only three countries are able to produce such launchers: The United States, France and Russia". Over 4 meters long, each cell shelters a missile. Where necessary, the frigate can fire in salvos, and all 48 missiles stored in the bow can be expended within a couple of minutes. The benefits are therefore significant compared to old directional launching systems. Not only can the frigate improve its rate of fire, but its vertically launched missiles can be launched in all directions. This technique avoids having to operate the launcher, which might be pointing in the wrong direction. With incoming missiles flying at approximately Mach 1, the reaction time is very short. Each second counts.

In order to optimize the Aster's effectiveness, the missile's homing head does not have to be turned on immediately after launch. It can be turned on very late to avoid being spoofed by any counter-measures, the targeting information being refreshed through the ship's datalink. After a first firing at sea in May 2006 from the Italian trials ship Carabiniere, Aster 30 will be launched for the first time from Forbin's bow in the coming months, during trials at the Levant test center.

Artillery's Role

As a traditional anti-aircraft weapon, the gun has not disappeared on Forbin and Chevalier Paul. The Navy, in fact, wanted to keep guns for self-defense, not only for the ship's protection but also because guns are still effective against missiles. For the first time in forty years, France has given up the 100mm caliber gun and adopted the Italian OTO-Melara 76mm gun. With 80 rounds available ready to fire and a rate of approximately 100 rounds per minute, the gun has a range of 8 kilometers against air targets. The objective is to throw up a "wall of lead" whose fragments will damage incoming missiles.

However, even though the Forbin embarks two 76mm guns in front of the bridge, it only has one Type RTN-30 X multi-sensor fire control system. Located on the main mast's front face, the fire-control can only acquire targets from one direction at a time. It is nonetheless capable of tracking several targets, prioritizing threats and engaging the first target before shifting automatically to the next target using stored information.

In addition to air defense, the gun can be useful for maritime patrol, for example if Forbin meets a ship suspected of trafficking or illegal fishing. Where necessary, the 76 mm will be used to deliver warning shots, a more "practical" and cheaper solution than using heavier weapons. "You could hardly fire on a trawler fishing illegally with an anti-ship missile", smiles an officer. Similarly, the gun can prove very useful in the fight against traffickers, or even in self-defence against small suicide craft. With this in mind, the on-board artillery includes two 20mm guns, light 12.7mm machine guns will probably be added in the future.

Third gun for the Italians, Sadral abandoned for the French?

The Italians, who have always had less confidence in missile defences, chose to install a third 76mm gun and a second fire control system on the helicopter hangar roof of their two frigates. This setup has the advantage of allowing for converging fires or simultaneous engagement in two directions. Initially, the French had expected to install two Sadral very short range SAM systems on the hangar roof, each with six Mistral missiles. However, a second jammer was installed in place of the starboard launcher. The second Sadral, to port, has not been fitted.

Contingency measures allow for fitting at a latter date, but this is no longer on the agenda. Sadral is a rather old system, though it is still effective against missiles with a fearsome reputation. If the navy decides to fit a system on Forbin, it will probably be Tetral, a more recent design that is also equipped with Mistral missiles in a quadruple launcher. The installation of Mica VL, on the other hand, is not on the table.

Compared to the Italian Horizons, the French frigates are therefore "unprotected" towards the stern. Given the Falklands experience, where the British buildings were often battered in the stern by Argentinean aviation, does this constitute a weakness? "One cannot really speak about weakness because the vertically launched Aster missiles compensate for the lack of stern weapons. In addition, the ship is very agile, as it demonstrated during its sea trials", explains an engineer.

New Exocet and new helicopter

The Horizon program is characterized by significant quantities of new equipment installed on the frigates. However, this accumulation of innovations was not without difficulties, especially when it came to keeping construction on schedule.

As far as weapons go, the Horizons are equipped with the new Aster 30 and Exocet missiles. Forbin has the Block 3 version of the famous Exocet missile produced by MBDA. This new anti-ship missile successfully completed its trials with a test firing last April 25^th. The missile flew a littoral attack flight profile over 160 kilometers at the Missile Launching Test Center (CELM), on the Levant island. The new Exocet's range is 180 kilometers, more than double that of the MM40 currently in service (72 kilometers). Its size is identical to its predecessors (length 5.8 meters, diameter 35 centimetres), but it is lighter, with a weight of 740 kilos instead of 870 kilos for the previous generation. It is also powered by a turbojet, equipped with a GPS and capable of hitting land-based targets. Its speed reaches 900 km/h.

The Horizon will also operate the NH90 helicopter. 27 are to be delivered to the French Navy from 2009 onwards to replace Super Frelon transport helicopters and Lynx anti-submarine helicopters. Forbin is equipped with a vast landing platform and high ceiling hangar that can hold one NH90. Pilots used to landing the Cassard and Jean Bart's small platforms will appreciate the difference.

Solid anti-submarine defense

Although mainly designed for air defense, Forbin is actually a general-purpose ship, or to use trendy terminology, "multirole". Whereas Exocet covers the anti-ship mission, the Horizons have also been equipped with important means of undersea detection and action. They have a 4110 CL active low frequency hull sonar developed by Thales, and a towed Alto torpedo detector. For self-defense against submarines, Forbin can count on two torpedo tubes firing the new MU90 light torpedo designed by DCNS, Thales and Italian WASS. The torpedo compartment holds 19 of these very powerful weapons, which can surpass 50 knots and hit targets 1000 meters deep. Intended to equip all of the French Navy's future frigates as well as some of those currently in service, the MU90 will be launched from maritime patrol planes and helicopters such as the NH90.

Another innovation on the Horizons is the SLAT anti-torpedo system. This system includes the towed Alto array and two countermeasures launchers on the hangar roof. Large efforts have also been made to reduce magnetic signature by sending an electrical current through the hull. In the acoustic field, noisy equipment has been insulated and auxiliary engines mounted on shock absorbers, preventing the propagation of vibrations through the hull. This enables the frigate to operate discretely and reduces the likelihood of submarine detection.

State-of-the-art electronic warfare

The French and Italians did not haggle over the ships' electronic warfare suite. Since these are first rate ships intended to operate in high threat environments, the Horizons have very powerful systems. "The systems are extremely powerful and can be compared to those on board an intelligence gathering ship", claims an engineer. The Franco-Italian company Sigen (Thales and Eletronicca) has developed the Radar Electronic Counter Measure (RECM) jammer, whose capabilities are claimed to be "remarkable". Two of these are installed, one on the main mast and one on the hangar roof. Their goal is to scramble the homing head of any attacking missiles. In addition, a radar detector (RESM) was laid out in a crown placed under the Empar fire control radar's dome. As for the radio detection system, it is installed at the top of the center mast. The last defense against missiles consists of two NGDS chaff launchers (New Generation Dagaie System). Produced by Sagem Defense Safety, these defend against any missiles that penetrate the anti-missile screen of Aster missiles. NGDS includes electromagnetic and infrared decoys. The idea is to create an incandescent cloud which will attract a missile's homing head; while the boat maneuvers, this moving cloud mislead misleads the missile and makes it miss its target.

Missiles, artillery, electronic warfare... With such an abundance of systems, the task of any attacker looks difficult. In fact, contrary to frigates of preceding generations, there will no longer be lookouts scanning the sky in search of planes emerging without warning from the clouds or the horizon. The bridge wings and the lookout platform have been deleted. "There is no longer a visual defense bridge because, we believe that from now on planes can no longer escape from the combination of radars, infra-red search and electronic warfare suite".

Following in the footsteps of the La Fayette frigates, the new air defense frigates benefit from DCNS's studies on stealth. The 125 meter long, 3000 ton La Fayettes can be confused on radar with a 20 meter long trawler. The Horizons, in addition to having tilted superstructures and using composite materials, also have special coatings applied to the stacks to reduce infra-red emissions. Although there has been no stealth revolution compared to the La Fayette frigates, since radar absorbent materials have not been used for cost reasons, the builder has built on the research undertaken for the La Fayettes. The Forbin's radar return is therefore very small. "It is still similar to that of a fishing vessel and ships will be able to pass for trawlers, thanks to their civilian navigation radars", comments on an engineer.

On a more technical level, Nicolas Gaspard summarizes the Horizons' model stealth concept: "incidental energy is concentrated on a few, very localized parts of the ship. The enemy radar sees only what it seeks. The goal is to prevent detection and, if it does see something, it will not be able of identifying it because the signal will be too fleeting". This stealth is undeniably helpful against missiles, since it also increases the effectiveness of the frigate's countermeasures.

Built to withstand blows

When he speaks about Forbin, the head of the Horizon program evokes a "genuine warship, extremely protected against threats". The frigate includes 12 watertight sections and is designed to operate in very dangerous environments, including littoral areas where mines are a threat. The ship can resist an underwater explosion and still sail with a 15 meter breach in its hull and several compartments flooded. According to DCNS, the use of shock absorbers for equipment, extensive partitioning and a very "tight" hull structure ensure an excellent survivability. Beyond reducing radiated noises, the damping systems protect equipment against strong vibrations caused by impacts.

To improve its protection, the already very partitioned Forbin includes two technical passageways running along the entire length of the superstructure. "These passageways, one on each side of the ship, include much of the 450 kilometers of cables aboard. If the frigate takes a hit on one side, we simply fall back onto the cables on the other side", explains Michel Bouedec, production head at DCNS. The purpose of these passageways is also to absorb hits against the ship, in order to prevent them from reaching the central passageway. Thus, the ship is able to withstand heavy machine gun rounds. Lastly, this setup allows firefighters to bypass a fire in one section, for example to attack the fire from two directions or to reach a compartment located on the other side.

Extensive automation

The ship's Platform Management System (PMS) is very automated. Power supply, air-conditioning and fire detection are managed automatically, much like in a factory. Here again, redundancy is crucial: "It is a ringed architecture. Even if a loop is broken, the system continues to function", claims Nicolas Gaspard. Leveraging the same reconfigurable workstations used by the combat system, the PMS makes it possible to steer the frigate from 8 different locations. "The PMS allows control over many things. It can manage 12,000 entries and is identical to the equipment found in complex factories".

In the Damage Control Center, a flat screen shows the Forbin's various compartments, which are permanently monitored, for example through fire detectors. In the event of problem, a red light appears immediately on screen, indicating the location where a fire (for example) has been detected. In addition to the main damage control center, Forbin includes two back-up centers that can take over. One is located in front of the Sylver launchers and the other under the helicopter hangar. "The PMS enables supervision of all the alarms and orders can be sent with a simple click. If you want to start the engines, you simply click on the screen. The advantage is that all the stations are interchangeable and that you can easily move to another space", explains lieutenant Antoine Morcello. Thanks to automation, the propulsion control center will not require more than three or four sailors. In fact, the officer of the watch can control the electric power supply and propulsion from the bridge.

One of the consequences of this automation has of course been crew reductions. Only 195 sailors, including 15% women, are needed to operate the ship, compared to 250 aboard Cassard, which is half the size. The crew will be complete only this summer. For now, some 216 people have moved to Toulon, including part of the ship's crew and the industrial teams.

50,000hp to power 7000 tons at 29 knots

Forbin's propulsion is of the CODOG (Combined Diesel or Gas) type, with two LM 2500 gas turbines designed by the American GE and manufactured under licence by the Italian Avio. With a unit power of 25,000 hp (22 MW), these engines are used for high speeds and allow the ship to reach 29 knots. During its sea trials, Forbin even came very close to 31 knots, but the ship was light and had not embarked all of its equipment. The gas turbine propulsion allows for high speeds but burns a lot of fuel. Up to 18 knots, the ship is therefore powered by two Pielstick 12 PA6 STC diesel engines with a unit power of 5875 cv (4.7MW). Electric power, meanwhile, is provided by four Isotta Fraschini diesel generators of 1.6 MW each. "Together, these diesels generators s could power a town of 10.000 people", adds Michel Bouedec. Like the rest of the ship, the propulsion is designed to reduce exposure to combat damage or accidents. "The engines, such as the gas turbines and diesels are distributed in two quite distinct compartments. This distribution by sections avoids losing both at the same time".

Much like the rest of the Horizon program, the engines are very much Franco-Italian, with manufacturers in both countries supplying the equipment. The gas turbines, diesel engines and diesel generators were delivered by the Italians, whereas the French produced the gearbox, superb parts machined by DCNS' Indret unit, close to Nantes. During their sea trials, Forbin and Chevalier Paul proved to be very agile, with excellent seaworthiness according to DCNS.

French Navy: Towards a change in air defense doctrine?

The Forbin's first commander, Captain Christophe Balducchi, underlines the performances of the navy's newest showpiece. "Almost all the equipment is new. Forbin represents a real capability jump compared to what exists today". Compared with Cassard and, even more so, the older Suffren, the Horizons offer significantly increased performance. These new capabilities, long awaited by the French Navy, could allow it evolve its current air defense concept. The new frigate's interception volume is much improved, with a range of 70 kms for Aster 30, against 40 kms for Cassard's SM1-MR. The SM1-MR's lower range means that current frigates have to operate closer to the aircraft carrier. "The advantage of Forbin is that it can operate further away from the carrier task force it is escorting, thanks to its larger interception volume", summarizes an officer. "As we break-in the ship's crew prior to entering active service, we will need to see how we can use it best. With improved capabilities, we can change our tactics. We have some ideas right now, but we need to understand exactly what we can do".

The Horizons add to the means at the French armed forces' disposal. Much like an aircraft carrier, the deployment of a frigate could even constitute a political message. Designed to deal with all threats and well equipped as intelligence gathering ships, these frigates can hold many people in respect. "These ships are extremely hardened and therefore very effective means of dissuasion. The electronic warfare and air search systems can collect a lot of information and their capabilities allow the ships to hold their ground", estimates an engineer.

Crew training and gradual integration

Forbin will be handed over to the French Navy in September. Then will begin the "breaking-in" phase for the crew, to allow it to familiarize itself with the numerous and complex new equipments. "During the trials, crewmembers are already aboard. They are being formed on the go, through contact with the people who designed, built and tested the various systems. Thus, the knowledge transfer about the platform is already well begun", underlines Nicolas Gaspard.

Since the program's launch, the Navy has been following the frigates' design, construction and trials very closely. Before delivering a completely operational ship, DCNS and its partners must complete a long integration phase. For example, the combat system was initially tested on land, in Italy and then at Saint-Mandrier, prior to being embarked. The ship's mast and radars were installed on the Var peninsula, as had been done before for the Charles of Gaulle. "The Saint-Mandrier integration site allows us to push the system and checking that all the equipment functions and communicates well with each other. While this work is carried out, the various installations are gradually brought into service during the sea trials. Then, in a second stage, we carry out integration on board. After we have checked the sensors, we connect them to the combat system. The equipment then communicates together, benefiting from the tests carried out beforehand at Saint-Mandrier", explains Daniel Pioux, head of the combat system at DCNS.

An over-optimistic schedule

In spite of these allowances, the combat system's development has been at times difficult, due to the complexity of the requirements as well as the accumulation of new equipment. Thus the first attempts at integrating Forbin's equipment quickly turned to "cacophony". Although the biggest challenges have now been overcome, the engineers learned not to cry victory until the system was perfectly operational. "The combat system is now operational. It took some time since there are many new things and great changes compared to older systems, for example how we display information".

Due to these technical challenges, the government renegotiated the Horizon contract with industry. The schedule was delayed by 18 months, compared to the initial in service target date of 2006 decided when the program was given the go-ahead in 2000. "We had not yet conducted detailed studies when we prepared the initial calendar. We had estimated six years between contract signature and delivery, but around 2003 we saw that this would be very difficult to achieve, partly due to government-requested adjustments", explains DCNS.

As the first Franco-Italian naval program, Horizon has experienced some of the burdens of co-operation. Involved, indeed sometimes trapped, in a highly complex industrial setup, many players have criticized the "dilution of responsibilities" created by a cascade of Franco-Italian joint ventures. More than a mere program, Horizon is after all the heart of several major projects that extend beyond the shipyards' control. The governments, for example, were responsible for developing and delivering a lot of the equipment, such as PAAMS, EMPAR, MU90, SLAT or NH90. Over time, various difficulties inevitably while developing all these complex systems, and as a result the calendar slipped. Most of the challenges have now been resolved, and DCNS prefers to talk of future "adjustments" rather than delays. For PAAMS, for example, we expect evolutions but no delays. The program has been readjusted to take into account all the constraints".

With most of the challenges overcome, the mood seems to have lightened a great deal between the partners. The feeling today is mostly one of pride at having succeeded in such a challenge. After all, Forbin is not only the most powerful frigate in Europe and a superb showcase of European techonology.