Duquesne was a frigate of the French Navy. The French Navy does not use the term "destroyer" for its ships; hence some large ships, referred to as "frigates", are registered as destroyers. She was designed to protect a fleet against air threats, surface ships, submarines, and, to a lesser extent, provide firepower against land objectives. She is the sister-ship of . She is the eighth French vessel named after the 17th century admiral Abraham Duquesne. Her weapon systems bear names of battles to which Duquesne took part: "Messine" (turret n°1), "Palerme" (turret n°2), "Alicuri" (Malafon launcher), "Agosta" (Masurca launcher) and "Stromboli" (MM38 launcher).