FREMM multipurpose frigate

The FREMM, short for European multi-purpose frigate, is a Franco-Italian family of warships designed by Naval Group and Fincantieri. In France it is known as the Aquitaine class, of which 17 units were planned and nine later cancelled, and in Italy as the Bergamini class, of which 10 were planned. Three variants were first proposed: an anti-submarine ship, a general-purpose ship and a land-attack ship, and the land-attack version was cancelled. Italy ordered six general-purpose and four anti-submarine frigates, while France ordered six anti-submarine ships and two air-defence ones. The lead ship, Aquitaine, was commissioned by the French Navy in November 2012. The Italian ships are built by Orizzonte Sistemi Navali, a joint venture of Fincantieri and Leonardo, at Riva Trigoso and Muggiano. The design has been exported to other navies, and the United States Navy used a modified FREMM as the basis for the Constellation class of frigates.