The first of six new French Navy patrol boats to be deployed in the Indian Ocean and the Pacific by 2025 arrived Monday evening April 3 at its new home port, Nouméa (New Caledonia).
Leaving Brest on January 17, the overseas patrol boat (POM)
Auguste-Bénébig
, ordered at the end of 2019 from the Boulonnais shipyard Socarenam, was named after a Caledonian, a companion of the Liberation, volunteering during the Second World War .
"
This is an important moment which consecrates France's investment in its overseas territories and in the Indo-Pacific, in line with the strategy which was built by the President of the Republic for this space which is today in full geostrategic evolution
”, rejoiced the chief of staff of the Navy, the admiral Pierre Vandier.
"
The
Bénébig
marks the beginning of the renewal of all the means of intervention overseas
", underlined the admiral, who had traveled from mainland France.
Maritime space surveillance missions are decisive.
Admiral Pierre Vandier, Chief of Staff of the French Navy
The military programming law 2024-2030, presented Tuesday in the Council of Ministers, then provides for the renewal of all the air resources of the Navy in the Pacific and the Indian Ocean.
"
In a world which is rearming, in a world which is in the grip of climate change, which is seeing biodiversity collapse, maritime space surveillance missions are decisive
", underlined Admiral Vandier.
New Caledonia, French Polynesia and Reunion will each be equipped with two POMs by 2025. This new class of patrol boat replaces the P400s at the end of their course.
More autonomous (up to 30 days at sea within a radius of 5,500 nautical miles), with a higher payload capacity (1,300 tons versus 400), these surveillance vessels are equipped with drones.
The next building in the series should be delivered at the end of the year in French Polynesia.