Paris. 19 July 2023. It is the result of a strategic European industrial partnership at the service of the French Navy. During a ceremony organized on July 18, 2023 in Toulon, its home port, the Jacques Chevallier , the first of the four force supply vessels (BRF) of the “Logistics Fleet” program (FlotLog), was received by the Directorate General of Armaments (DGA) for delivery to the French Navy.
Launched in 2019 and built in Saint-Nazaire by Naval Group and Chantiers de l’Atlantique, the Jacques Chevallier returned to its home port in Toulon in March 2023 to carry out a sea trial campaign dedicated to the refueling system at sea (supplied by Chantiers de l’Atlantique), and the combat and communication system (supplied by Naval Group).
The building has successfully completed a first phase of sea trials and is now joining the French Navy’s naval action force.The final assembly of the second BRF, Jacques Stosskopf, will begin in Saint-Nazaire at the start of 2024, for delivery in 2025. With a greater cargo and fuel carrying capacity than their predecessors, but also better tactical capabilities, the BRFs are intended to replace the current oil tankers and will support the carrier battle group, articulated around the aircraft carrier, and the naval action groups.
The BRF Jacques Chevallier is the first of a series of four ships in the FlotLog program, the order of which was notified in January 2019 to the Momentary Group of Companies formed by Chantiers de l’Atlantique and Naval Group. The FlotLog program is piloted by the DGA, in cooperation with Italy, under a contract carried out by the Joint Armament Cooperation Organization (OCCAR)
Naval Group and Chantiers de l’Atlantique are combining and multiplying their skills in order to offer the best of each of the two companies in the construction of these new tankers. Chantiers de l’Atlantique is responsible for all of the design and construction of the four vessels and is responsible for the integration and assembly of the on-board systems. Naval Group is responsible for designing, developing, integrating and maintaining operational the ship’s military systems, including the combat system and the systems contributing to the reception capacity of aircraft and the loading of ammunition. The combat system of the four buildings notably allows the ships to deploy independently to their area of operations, to provide protection against close threats and to lead the fight against asymmetric threats.
Technical characteristics :
Full load displacement: 31,000 tonnes;
Overall length: 194 m;
Overall width: 27.60 m;
Accommodation: 200 people, including 140 crew members and 60 passengers;
Fuel carrying capacity: 13,000 m3;
Total installed power: 24 MW.
Chantiers de l’Atlantique is a shipyard in Saint-Nazaire, France. It is one of the world’s largest shipyards, constructing a wide range of commercial, naval, and passenger ships. It is located near Nantes, at the mouth of the Loire river and the deep waters of the Atlantic, which make the sailing of large ships in and out of the shipyards easy. It designs, integrates, tests and takes turnkey deliveries of cruise ships, military ships, electrical substations for offshore wind farms and fleet services. “The company is at the heart of tomorrow’s challenges, today offering ships whose environmental performance exceeds the most stringent standards, as well as equipment for offshore wind power, which makes it a major player in the energy transition,” it says with pride.
