French frigate Forbin ( D620 ) Forbin is a large anti - air destroyer of the French Navy , lead ship of the . Her first task is protecting aircraft carriers , capital ships or civilian ships from supersonic missile attacks ; her complement of medium - range anti - air missiles allows her to support the defences of another ship under attack and avoid their saturation . She is also capable of monitoring and controlling operations carried out from the sea by friendly aircraft . " Forbin " is the sixth vessel of the French Navy named after the 17th century admiral Claude Forbin - Gardanne . Operations . Building and fitting out . Construction of " Forbin " began in Lorient on 8 April 2002 . The hull was built in 14 sections by a variety of subcontractors of DCN , including several companies from Saint - Nazaire . Each section was 7 metres high , and 16 to 20 metres long . " Forbin " was laid down on 16 January 2004 ; the hull sections were transferred from Saint - Nazaire to Lorient on a barge tugged by " Alcyon " and assembled there from February 2004 to January 2005 , finishing with the bow . The engines were delivered by FiatAvio in September . " Forbin " was launched on 10 March 2005 , after part of the Scorff river was dredged to make it deep enough for her draught . She was towed out of her building dock by four tugboats at 16 : 15 , taking advantage of the tide . On 28 October , " Forbin " entered dry dock and underwater equipment was installed , notably the sonar , propellers and rudders . Trials were held throughout 2006 . Engine tests started on 10 May , and she sailed for sea trials on 29 June . Tuning of the combat management systems was particularly problematic , setting the completion of the ship off - schedule enough for her commissioning to be delayed by several months . In late January 2007 , " Forbin " underwent new extensive trials at sea , successfully testing her combat systems in exercises against Super Étendard and Atlantique 2 aircraft . The PAAMS was tested in late May at the Centre d ' Essais des Landes . From 12 to 17 , " Forbin " sailed to Toulon , her new home port , where her combat , detection and weapon systems were further finetuned . " Forbin " fired an Aster 30 at the test range of the DGA on 25 November . First cruise . " Forbin " left Toulon on 3 March 2009 for her first long cruise , visiting Morocco , the United States and Canada . She carried a Panther from Squadron 36F of the " Aéronavale " to validate her air installations . " Forbin " sailed to Casablanca , and then to Rio de Janeiro . She left Brazil on 30 March , bound for Martinique , where she arrived on 21 April . and sailed on to Norfolk and New York , arriving on 24 April . During the transit , she carried out exercises with . A visit to Halifax was cancelled . " Forbin " was back to France in May , where she took part in the naval parade of 8 May off Sainte - Maxime . On 25 May , she was at Abu Dhabi . In June , " Forbin " operated with the carrier group , supporting " Operation Enduring Freedom " and maritime security operations . Second cruise . The frigate " Forbin " was part of the French naval task group led by the that departed Toulon on 30 October 2010 for a four - month deployment to the Mediterranean Sea , Red Sea , Indian Ocean . and Persian Gulf . The task group commander , Rear Admiral Jean - Louis Kerignard , defined force ' s mission as follows : Once on station , the " Charles de Gaulle " carrier task group joined two U . S . Navy carrier strike group s led by the aircraft carriers and operating in the Persian Gulf . Subsequently , between 7 – 14 January 2011 , the French carrier task group led by the " Charles de Gaulle " participated with bilateral naval exercise , code named Varuna 10 , with the Indian Navy . Indian naval units participating in Varuna 10 included the , the s and ; and the diesel - electric submarine . Varuna 10 was a two - phase naval exercise , with the harbor phase taking place between 7 – 11 January and the sea phase between 11 – 14 January in the Arabian Sea .