With the northern lights and icebergs still fresh in mind, the sailors of the multi-mission frigate (FREMM) Aquitaine were reunited with their families on the quayside in Brest on November 3, 2024. A look back at three months of the vessel’s deployment in the North Atlantic.
As required by the tradition of crossing the Arctic Circle, it was with a freshly painted blue axial fairlead that the FREMM Aquitaine returned to its naval base in Brest. It had been seventy-seven days since it had crossed the passes in the opposite direction to head out to sea, heading for the North Atlantic, for a long patrol off Iceland, the Faroe Islands and Greenland.
After completing an operational refresher course designed to push the limits of its training, FREMM was able to consolidate its interoperability with its allies by joining Task Group NATO 441.01 (Standing NATO Maritime Group 1), with which it participated in the Northern Viking exercise at the end of August .
The Aquitaine then continued its patrol in the area, reinforcing NATO’s deterrent and defensive posture in the heart of a theatre at the crossroads of major strategic issues, and in a context of tensions in North-Eastern Europe. The regular presence of French ships in the area allows in particular to have an autonomous assessment of the situation.
Before returning to their families, the sailors stopped off at the gates of Bayonne from October 29 to November 2 for an event stopover. This was only the third time that the frigate had visited its sponsor city, five years after its last visit. In three days, the crew welcomed more than 2,300 visitors in a festive atmosphere in the presence of the Lann-Bihoué bagad (SIC), thus considerably strengthening the Army-Nation bond.