A study is to take place regarding the conversion of one of the French Navy's Aquitaine-class (FREMM) multimission frigates into a dedicated anti-air warfare (AAW) ship, Jane's has learned.rnThe navy is on course to commission two Forbin-class air defence destroyers in 2008 and 2009 under the joint Franco-Italian Horizon programme.rnGeorges Thierry, managing director of the Warship division at DCNS' Lori-ent shipyard, said: "There was an original plan for a third Horizon frigate [but] the third isn't going to be built, so the French Navy is currently asking for a study to be carried out for producing one air defence frigate from FREMM."rnThierry said the current FREMM programme, which will see eight Aquitaine-class ships commissioned between 2011-16, was progressing well. Six ships will be optimised for anti-submarine warfare while two, Auvergne and Alsace, will be fitted for land-attack missions.
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