Special to WorldTribune.com

LONDON — Morocco has been preparing for the delivery of an advanced
French-origin naval frigate.

The Royal Moroccan Navy has been overseeing sea trials of the FREMM
multi-mission frigate from France’s DCNS. Last month, DCNS completed a
third series of trials to test the ships’s combat system.

“This third series of sea trials represents a major milestone for the overall program and more particularly for the ship’s combat system,” Gilles Raybaud, DCNS program manager for Morocco, said. “Our crews thoroughly tested the full suite of combat system hardware and software that makes FREMM frigates among the most versatile and advanced on the world market.”

Executives said the series of FREMM tests were designed to check the performance of the combat system’s main sensors. They cited target engagement with the Aster anti-air missiles and MM40 anti-ship missiles, fire control tests for the 76mm main gun and multi-function radar.

“Other vessel capability tests involved helicopter approach control and the deployment of various towed devices,” DCNS said on July 10.

The trials of the latest frigate, called Mohammed VI, included senior
officers from the Moroccan navy. The officers, who participated in bridge
and propulsion watch-keeping, said they were satisfied with the result of the
sea trials.

“In accordance the contractual provisions, the second-of-type is
scheduled for delivery to the Royal Moroccan Navy by the end of this year,”
DCNS said. “The ship will be named the Mohammed VI.”

  76mm main gun, DCNS, finishes sea trials, FREMM, Mohammed VI, Morocco, Morocco’s advanced frigate, Royal Moroccan Navy