After four months of deployment, the Multi-Mission Air Defense Frigate (FREMM DA) Lorraine docked in Toulon on 2 August. This deployment was dedicated to the verification of the military characteristics of the building. In particular, Lorraine participated in the evacuation of nationals in Sudan as part of Operation SAGITTARIUS. Lorraine made 12 stopovers and carried out cooperation actions with the main strategic partners of the France in the Indo-Pacific.
A few days after sailing from Toulon, Lorraine conducted an air defense exercise with a frigate and fighters of the Hellenic Armed Forces. Following the first port of call in Alexandria, she conducted operational cooperation activities at sea with FREMM Tahya Misr – her Egyptian sistership.
After crossing the Suez Canal and as soon as it entered the Red Sea, Lorraine was diverted to support and then join the operation to evacuate SAGITTARIUS nationals. After a quick stopover in Djibouti to embark reinforcements with the support of the French Forces stationed in Djibouti (FFDj), Lorraine docked at Port Sudan on 25 April. In 5 hours, it embarked nearly 400 nationals of more than 60 different nationalities. The next day, they were deposited in the port of Jeddah.
On May 7 in Cochin, India, Lorraine conducted a series of exercises with the air defense destroyer Kolkata. She then headed east for the Strait of Malacca for a stop in Singapore, marked by interactions with the Australian frigate Anzac.
On 19 May, Lorraine entered the South China Sea, contributing to the autonomous assessment of the France situation in this area. The stopover of the FREMM-DA in Japan allowed it to train against the latest Japanese submarine, the Taigei. A few days after the G7 in Hiroshima, this first joint exercise of struggle under the sea illustrated the strengthening of the Franco-Japanese strategic partnership.
The Lorraine then integrated for 14 days the American Carrier Strike Group No. 5 articulated around the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan. It took part in the “Tri Carrier Operations” maneuvers that brought together the American aircraft carriers Nimitz and Ronald Reagan, as well as the Japanese aircraft carrier Izumo and ten escorts from four Pacific Rim nations (United States, Japan, Canada, France). This sequence was an opportunity to demonstrate their shared commitment to international law and freedom of navigation. The results achieved by the combat system in this complex tactical environment provided valuable lessons learned in verifying the building’s military characteristics.
At the end of June, Lorraine took a break in the Philippines, a strategic country for operations in the region, while the France celebrated there on 75Th anniversary of Franco-Philippine relations.
After a brief stint in the Indian islands of Andamans and Nicobar, a strategic lock on the Strait of Malacca, she patrolled the Bay of Bengal before stopping at Colombo in Sri Lanka. After an exercise with a Sri Lankan corvette and a crossing in the rough waters of the Arabian Sea under monsoon flow, Lorraine made a final stop in Djibouti. It conducted a series of training sessions with the FFDj, including helicopter maneuvers, live actions with marine commandos and an air defense exercise.
The long-term deployment concluded with a final patrol in the Mediterranean for arrival in Toulon on 2 August. In total, Lorraine has traveled 53,000 kilometers sailing on 6 seas, two oceans and visiting 9 countries.