Two of the star attractions of the French Navy, the Landing Helicopter Dock Dixmude and stealth frigate FLF Aconit, are scheduled to call on Visakhapatnam port on Tuesday as part of a week-long courtesy call.
As part of a long tour, the French amphibious group, composed of the LHD Dixmude and the FLF Aconit, left its homeport of Toulon in March 2015 as part of a training integrated deployment called the ‘Jeanne d’Arc 2015’ mission. The group has sailed through the Indian Ocean and the South China Sea towards the Sea of Japan.
During its mission, scheduled to end in July 2015, the amphibious group is conducting military operations and bilateral co-operation activities with partner Navies.
On its return trip from the Indo-Pacific region towards Toulon, the amphibious group will reach the city on Tuesday, according to a note from the French Military Mission.
Military operations
Military operations and bilateral cooperation actions have been integrated into the mission. As part of its training component, the mission will have 146 cadets take part in the deployment. Trained officers from the 2012 French Naval Academy promotion as well as foreign officers will carry out their first operational deployment. This is intended to make these young officers acquire a solid military leader and seaman status.
LHD Dixmude is an amphibious ship and an assault helicopter carrier. It has the capability to deploy troops and vehicles apart from being a hospital ship. It can be used as a forward base for special forces during overseas deployment.
