French frigate Auvergne

Original plans were for 17 FREMM to replace the nine D'Estienne d'Orves-class avisos and nine anti-submarine frigates of the Tourville and Georges Leygues classes. In November 2005 France announced a contract of €3.5 billion for development and the first eight hulls, with options for nine more costing €2.95 billion split over two tranches (totaling 17).

Following the cancellation of the third and fourth of the Horizon-class frigates in 2005 on budget grounds, requirements for an air-defence derivative of the FREMM called FREDA were placed – with DCNS coming up with several proposals.^[5] Expectations were that the last two ships of the 17 FREMM planned would be built to FREDA specifications; however, by 2008 the plan was revised down to just 11 FREMM (9 ASW variants and 2 FREDA variants) at a cost of €8.75 billion (FY13, ~US$12 billion).^[6] The 11 ships would cost €670 million (~US$760m) each in FY2014, or €860m (~US$980m) including development costs.^[6] In 2015, the total number of ASW variants was further reduced to just six units, including Auvergne.

Auvergne was developed as part of a joint Italian-French program known as FREMM, which was implemented to develop a new class of frigates for use by various European navies. Constructed from 2012. The frigate Auvergne was launched on 2 September 2015 and commissioned in 2018.

In late 2021/early 2022, just prior to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the frigate deployed to the Black Sea for exercises with the Bulgarian and other NATO navies.^[7] The frigate departed the Black Sea prior to the outbreak of hostilities.

She was initially home ported at Toulon, but transferred to the naval base at Brest in December 2022.^[8][9][10]