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This agreement is part of a series of agreements between Naval Group and Norwegian industries to reinforce industrial collaboration in support of the future Norwegian frigate program.
The MoU was signed on June 24th at the Norwegian Chamber of Commerce in Oslo. It is another concrete step towards securing national maintenance and Through Life Support (TLS) in Norway. The goal is to ensure operational availability of the FDI frigates at a level comparable to that of the French Navy’s FREMM frigates, which have maintained a fleet availability rate above 80%.
A new step towards a Norwegian maritime and defense cluster
With the signing of this MoU, Naval Group and Westcon shipyard (westcon.no) are adding a new layer on the broad industrial organization creating a Norwegian maritime and defense industrial cluster. The cluster will support the future maintenance organization, to be agreed upon in due time between the Norwegian authorities, Naval Group and its Norwegian strategic partner.
“This agreement is a new stone in the development of a Norwegian maritime and defense cluster meeting our common ambition to develop a sovereign, resilient, and future-ready naval support structure in Norway. Westcon’s expertise is extremely valuable within this cluster we are building with our Norwegian partners” says Guillaume Weisrock, Naval Group's SVP for Sales and Business Development in Europe and North America.
“This is an important step for Westcon and the Norwegian maritime industry. Establishing a close and long-term collaboration with Naval Group is strategically important for us and for Norway, and we look forward to contributing actively to ensuring high availability and support for Norway’s future frigates”, says Øystein Matre, CEO of Westcon.
Strengthening durable industrial ties with Norway in the defence and maritime sectors
France is building durable industrial ties with Norway in the defence and maritime sectors and intents to be a trusted partner in supporting the Royal Norwegian Navy’s future requirements.
To this extent, Naval Group has signed a large number of MoUs and partnership agreements with Norwegian industrial companies and academics (examples: Konsgberg, CCB, Westcon, NORCE, SINTEF, Simula, Akkodis, NTNU), in order to integrate them in the group’s global supply chain.
The FDI, a scalable vessel maintenance-oriented by design
Thanks to the experience acquired on the FREMMs frigates, Naval Group has considered maintenance constraints throughout the FDI design process. Therefore, architectural choices have been made to allow easy maintenance, accessibility, adapted handling means, simulations of withdrawal paths (without breaching) for the largest equipment, etc.
The entire warship design is based on a state-of-the-art digital architecture. In addition to new data-centric capabilities, such as intelligent maintenance or the ability to process massive data and provide information and decision-making superiority, this digital architecture allows seamless continuous upgrades throughout its operational life to adapt to the future needs of the Navy and to next technological developments.
About Naval Group
As an international naval defence player, Naval Group (naval-group.com) is a partner for countries seeking to maintain control of their maritime sovereignty. Naval Group develops innovative solutions to meet its customers’ requirements. The group is present throughout the entire life cycle of vessels. It designs, produces, equips, integrates, supports and upgrades submarines and surface ships, as well as their systems and equipment, right up to the final phases of deconstruction and dismantling. Naval Group’s unique know-how in autonomous systems, underwater weapons and drones place it in pole position to become European leader in the sector. As a high-tech company, it draws on its outstanding expertise, unique design and production resources and ability to establish strategic partnerships, in particular within the framework of transfers of technology. It also provides shipyard and naval base services. Ever mindful of the issues concerning corporate social responsibility (CSR), Naval Group is a signatory to the United Nations Global Compact. Located on five continents, the group generates revenue of 4.355 billion euros and has 16,722 employees (Full-Time Equivalent average annual workforce - figures as on 31 December 2024).
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