Two French Navy (Marine Nationale) surface warships have berthed in North Queensland this week, as part of a five-month deployment which will circumnavigate the globe.
The warships, the 21,000 tonne Mistral-class LHD FNS Dixmunde (L9015) and the 3,700 tonne La Fayette-class frigate FNS La Fayette (F710), are part of Mission Jeanne D’Arc and sailed from the French Navy’s Mediterranean base in Toulon in February.
The Dixmunde, with a French Army contingent embarked berthed in Townsville on 11 April and the La Fayette is visiting Cairns. Aviation assets embarked in Dixmunde include French Army Aerospatiale SA342 Gazelle light helicopters and a Navy AS565SA Panther, as well as a Schiebel S-100 Camcopter UAS.
Prior to their docking, the two ships had carried out a maritime strike and anti-submarine warfare (ASW) exercise with RAAF F-35A Lightning II and P-8A Poseidon aircraft in the Timor Sea on 5 April. Before that, the ships had participated alongside Australian, Indian, Japanese and US forces in the Bay of Bengal, as part of Exercise La Perouse.
During their stay in Townsville, 120 French Army personnel from the Dixmunde will also exercise with Australian Army units based at Lavarack Barracks.
ADM attended a function aboard the Dixmunde on 11 April, during which France’s Ambassador to Australia Jean-Pierre Thébault explained the importance of Mission Jeanne D’Arc in the Indo-Pacific Region.
“We are your closest western European neighbour,” he explained. “We are a community of values and we want to not only take care of our citizens, but we want – together with you – to act so the Pacific is a peaceful region.
“We stand together with you and we will always stand together with you.”
After their departure from Australian waters, the Dixmunde and La Fayette will be joined by the Marine National’s FREMM (Frégate Européenne Multi-Mission) air warfare frigate FNS Lorraine (D657), which is currently en-route from France.