Interview: Naval Group suggests "risk-free" solution in Nordic frigate race

The upcoming frigate decisions in Denmark and Sweden remain open, with multiple bidders in play.

However, the competition is not only about who can design the most advanced frigate, but about who can remove the most uncertainty. And on that measure, France’s defence giants Naval Group claim to stand apart.

In an interview with Defence Nordic, Senior Vice President Guillaume Weisrock makes that argument explicit, not by pointing to future capability, but to what already exists.

- The FDI (Frégate de Défense et d'Intervention) is an existing, already delivered and in-operation platform, he says.

It’s one thing to have good ships. It’s a better thing to have good ships at sea

Guillaume Weisrock, senior vice president at Naval Group

Proven concept

This distinction between a ship in service and a ship still on paper is one of Naval Group's main selling points. And according to Tor Ivar Strømmen it is a good one. 

As naval officer and researcher with the Royal Norwegian Naval Academy (RNoNA) he sees the FDI as the optimal option to fulfil both the Danish and Swedish naval needs.

- What you get is a genuinely multi-role frigate with a proven record in service and strong capabilities in both air defence and anti-submarine warfare, he says.

Weisrock pushes the same point more bluntly:

- It’s one thing to have good ships. It’s a better thing to have good ships at sea.

The competition remains undefined. Denmark is expected to procure around three new frigates, but the programme has yet to take a clear form.

No decision is expected before a new government is in place following Tuesday's election, and Copenhagen is considering coordination with Sweden, which plans to acquire four frigates.

The United Kingdom has long been seen as a natural partner through Babcock’s Type 31 design, already exported to Poland and Indonesia, while Germany is also in contention. However, no ships have been delivered yet.

The French navy does not merely acquire frigates. It keeps them at sea

Tor Ivar Strømmen, commander and researcher at RNoNA

London is now stepping up its effort, with Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer personally backing a Danish deal, underscoring the political weight and unresolved nature of the process.

It is precisely in that uncertainty that Naval Group is trying to position itself.

A "risk-free" proposition

Guillaume Weisrock does not present the FDI as a conceptual leap, but as a way to reduce risk across the entire programme.

- If you want to reach 2030 as a delivery date, we see it as important to have a fully developed value-chain and already operational ships, he says.

For Naval Group, the argument is cumulative. It is not only that the platform already exists, but that it has thereby absorbed many of the risks that typically emerge later in a programme.

- Having ships in service already demonstrates the performance day after day, which helps secure the fact that it’s a risk-free approach for the buyer, Weisrock says.

Having ships in service already demonstrates the performance day after day

Guillaume Weisrock, senior vice president at Naval Group

That emphasis on what is already working is echoed from an operational perspective in France, according to Tor Ivar Strømmen.

- The French navy does not merely acquire frigates. It keeps them at sea, he says.

- Year after year, the French navy sustains availability above 80 per cent, which is an exceptional figure and one rarely matched elsewhere in Europe,

At present, 17 of the French navy's 20 principal surface combatants and capital ships are available and at sea.

Whether the arguments of reliability and a proven concept resound in Copenhagen and Stockholm remains to be seen. Sweden is expected to make a decision in the first half of 2026 while Denmark has presented no set timeline.