The Cassard class (Type F70 AA) was a class of two anti-air warfare destroyers of the French Navy introduced in the latter 1980s/early 1990s. The class was an air defence variant of the . The two classes have a different armament and propulsion system mounted on an identical hull.[1] Their primary role was to provide air cover for a fleet, an aeronaval group, a convoy & a littoral point. Their secondary role was to manage air assets coordination & aircraft control for the force, especially through Link 16.They can also be used for research, identification or presence missions. Both ships were assigned to the Force d'Action Navale.[2] The lead ship of the class, Cassard, was retired in 2019 followed by the retirement of Jean Bart in 2021.
The experience gained during the design and construction of the Cassard type was used for the design of the .
The Cassard-class frigate was initially designed to replace the four anti-air warfare vessels in service at the time. Initially procured with four ships in the class, (the third and fourth hulls authorized for construction in 1983), the class was cut back to two vessels after the United States chose to terminate the production of the Standard SM-1MR missile. The prolonged design period led to the plans being redrawn several times.[2]
The class shared a common hull design with the Georges Leygues class. The superstructure was composed of a lightweight aluminum alloy that is resistant to fire and corrosion. However the adoption of a similar propulsion system was abandoned early on. The hot exhaust from the Olympus turbines found on the Georges Leygues class was thought to be incompatible with the numerous arrays required in the new design.[2] The ships were crewed by 244 personnel but could accommodate 251.
The class carried one anti-submarine helicopter on a deck placed aft with a hangar provided for storage.[2] Originally supplied with a Eurocopter AS 565 Panther, they were later replaced with the Westland Lynx. The SAMAHE 210 helicopter handling system is adaptable to different types of undercarriages on helicopters and had munitions trucks to position weapon loadouts to assist the arming of the helicopters.[2]
The Cassard class were powered by four SEMT Pielstick 18 PA6V 280 BTC diesels creating a sustained 43200hp driving two shafts.[3] This provided the ships a maximum speed of 29.5kn and a range of 8000nmi at .[3] The SEMT Pielstick diesels are capable of double super-charging.[2] The engines were placed upon flexible mountings reducing the noise signature of the ship.[2]
The Cassard frigates were armed with one Mk 13 launcher for the 40 Standard SM-1MR anti-air missiles. The missiles have semi-active radar homing out to 46km (29miles) at Mach 2 with a ceiling limit of 18288m (60,000feet).[3] The Mk 13 single arm launchers and SPG 51 tracker/illuminators were taken off the T 47 destroyers and and refurbished.[2]
The Cassards were also provided with two Sadral sextuple launchers for 39 Mistral CIWS anti-air missiles. The Mistrals have infrared homing out to 4km (02miles) and have a 3kg (07lb) warhead. They are anti-sea skimmer missiles and are able to engage incoming targets down to 10feet above sea level.[3]
For anti-ship weaponry, the class was provided with eight MM40 Exocet anti-ship missiles. The MM40 Exocet missiles are sea-skimmers with a warhead of 165kg (364lb) and have a range of 70km (40miles) at Mach 0.9.[3] The frigates also had two fixed torpedo tubes for ten L5 mod 4 torpedoes. These torpedoes have active and passive homing with a range of 9.5km (05.9miles) at 35kn. They carry a 150kg (330lb) warhead and can travel to a depth of 550m (1,800feet).[3]
The Cassard class was armed with a Creusot-Loire Compact /55 Mod 68 DP gun. The gun can fire 80 rounds per minute out to 17km (11miles) in an anti-surface role and 8km (05miles) against aerial targets.[3] Initially the class was designed to have a second 100 mm main gun on the quarterdeck, however during the design phase the guns were removed and replaced with the helicopter hangar and two Sadral launchers.[2] The vessels were also supplied with two F2 anti-aircraft guns and four machine guns.[3]
| Cassard class construction data | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Pennant | Laid down | Launched | Commissioned | Decommissioned |
| D 614 | 3 September 1982 | 6 February 1985 | 28 July 1988 | 15 March 2019 | |
| D 615 | 12 March 1986 | 19 March 1988 | 21 September 1991 | 31 August 2021 | |
| Courbet | D 616 | Cancelled | |||
| ~ | D 617 | ||||
They were decommissioned in conjunction with the introduction of the FREDA air defence frigates in 2021–2022.