Aviation Naval Warfare Land Systems Small Arms Space By Flag By Year By Tag

FS Jean Bart (D615)

1991 MODERN NAVY

FS Jean Bart (D615) Story

FS Jean Bart (D615) was the second of two ships built to Kassad-class standards. The group is led by FS Cassard (D614) - detailed elsewhere on this page - both serving in the French fleet at the time of writing (2018). These types are equipped with long-range weapons for air defense/airspace denial to counter such threats.

Also carrying conventional weapons as well as anti-ship and anti-submarine systems, making these ships truly "multi-role" ships, an integral part of French naval operations.

FS Jean Bart witnessed the laying of the keel by the shipyard DCNS S.A. on 12 February 1986 and the launching on 19 March 1988. Her official commissioning took place on September 21, 1991. Her name was the French privateer Jean Bart, and she wasn't the first ship in the French Navy to do so.

FS Jean Bart was built with a displacement of 4,500 tons, a bow to stern length of 456 feet, a beam of 46 feet, and a draft of up to 20 feet. Power is provided by 4 Pielstick PA6 BTC series marine diesel units and 4 diesel generators driving the two axles below the stern.

The vessel can reach speeds of up to 25 knots and a range of up to 8,000 nautical miles.

The warship had a traditional design layout, including a single-deck gun with turrets above the forecastle, a raised bridge section and a main mast. The front and rear structures are separated by a gap in the middle. Above the stern is a helipad to support a single helicopter of the medium lift type.

There are 244 crew members on board. There are many sensors and systems on board, including search and track radar, fire control aids, navigation aids and decoy/jamming systems.

Primary armament is a single Mk 13 launcher for 40 x SM-1MR surface-to-air missiles (SAM) and 2 x Sadrar hexapod launchers for 39 x Mistral SAM. There are also 8 x MM40 "Exocet" anti-ship missiles and 2 x torpedo tubes, the latter with 10 x reloads. The Deck Gun is a Creusot-Loire compact 100mm/55 caliber Mod 68 Dual Purpose (DP) system that provides unobstructed views of what's going on ahead and to the side of the boat.

Close-range defense is provided by 2 x 20mm AA F2 series guns, and extreme close-range defense is provided by up to 4 x 12.7mm machine guns.

Notable operations in which Jean Bart has been involved to date include anti-piracy operations in 2008, and joint operations with allied fleets such as the U.S. Navy in 2011 and 2014.