Recently, the French Navy conducted a strike test in the Mediterranean Sea, during which the French frigate Courbet, with its crew on board, was detonated by a naval mine. This was reported in a press release from the French Ministry of Defense.
As a result of the explosion, neither Courbet nor the crew sustained any damage. The mine served as a simulator for threats that French naval vessels may encounter during combat operations. It was positioned at a safe distance from the frigate to prevent critical damage to the ship and injuries to the crew.
The test was carried out as part of the Polaris program, which prepares for high-intensity combat operations that began back in 2021. The aim of the test was to assess the structural integrity of the Courbet frigate and its systems, as well as to provide an excellent opportunity to train the crew for potential mine detonations during combat.
Interestingly, this type of experiment on ships of the same class as Courbet is being conducted for the second time; the first occurred at the beginning of their service in 1995. At that time, a 250 kg TNT charge was used, placed 30 meters away from the ship and at a depth of 40 meters.
Following the results of the new tests, the French Navy is likely to enhance the resilience of certain systems on the ship that prove to be the most vulnerable to explosions. This second test was necessary because three ships of the La Fayette project and the Courbet itself were modernized between 2020 and 2024, and the introduction of new equipment during modernization, along with the aging of the hulls, may have created new vulnerabilities.
Courbet is a La Fayette-class ship, in service since 1997. It measures 125 meters in length, 15.4 meters in width, and has a draft of 4.8 meters. Its top speed is 25 knots, and it has a displacement of approximately 3600 tons. In 2021, it underwent modernization, during which it received a new KingKlip Mk2 sonar and replaced its Crotale air defense system with a SADRAL system equipped with Mistral Mk3 MANPADS.
The ship also acquired 8 Exocet anti-ship missiles and a CANTO anti-torpedo system. Additionally, Courbet is armed with one 100-mm automatic gun and two 20-mm automatic guns. The crew consists of 150 sailors.