# Horizon-class frigate
The **Horizon-class frigate** (known in Italy as the *Orizzonte* class and in France as the FDA, *frégate de défense aérienne*) is a class of four air-defense frigates built jointly by France and Italy, two for each navy, and armed with the Principal Anti-Air Missile System (PAAMS). The ships are *Forbin* (D 620) and *Chevalier Paul* (D 621) of the [French Navy](https://www.edgepedia.org/french-navy) and *Andrea Doria* (D 553) and *Caio Duilio* of the [Italian Navy](https://www.edgepedia.org/italian-navy).[1](https://www.occar.int/our-work/programmes/horizon-mlufremm-multi-mission-frigates) They grew out of a tri-national British, French, and Italian program from which the United Kingdom withdrew in 1999 to build its own Type 45 destroyers, keeping the shared PAAMS missile system.[2](https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm199900/cmselect/cmdfence/528/528we10.htm)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Ships | Four vessels: *Forbin* (D 620) and *Chevalier Paul* (D 621), France; *Andrea Doria* (D 553) and *Caio Duilio*, Italy[1](https://www.occar.int/our-work/programmes/horizon-mlufremm-multi-mission-frigates) |
| Dimensions | Length 153 m, beam 20.3 m; displacement 6,500 tons, 7,300 tons full load[3](https://www.fincantieri.com/en/newsroom/press-releases/2023/contract-for-the-midlife-upgrade-mlu-of-the-horizon-class-frigates) |
| Performance | Maximum speed 29 knots; range 7,000 nm at 18 knots; accommodation for 210 (complement of 190 plus 20 passengers)[3](https://www.fincantieri.com/en/newsroom/press-releases/2023/contract-for-the-midlife-upgrade-mlu-of-the-horizon-class-frigates) |
| Main armament | PAAMS with Aster 15 and Aster 30 missiles in Sylver vertical launchers; 8 MM-40 Exocet B3 anti-ship missiles (French ships)[4](https://www.senat.fr/rap/r10-733/r10-73360.html) • [5](https://www.defense.gouv.fr/marine/forces-surface/fregates-defense-aerienne) |
| Radars | EMPAR C-band multifunction radar (range about 150 km) plus S1850M long-range surveillance radar[6](https://www.navalanalyses.com/2014/07/horizon-class-destroyers-of-french-and.html?m=1) • [4](https://www.senat.fr/rap/r10-733/r10-73360.html) |
| Mid-Life Upgrade | Contract signed 28 July 2023, worth €1.5 billion to Naviris and eurosam; new Aster 30 B1NT missile and two new AESA radars[3](https://www.fincantieri.com/en/newsroom/press-releases/2023/contract-for-the-midlife-upgrade-mlu-of-the-horizon-class-frigates) • [7](https://www.defense.gouv.fr/dga/actualites/france-litalie-commandent-renovation-fregates-defense-aerienne-forbin-chevalier-paul-marine) |
| Redelivery schedule | End of 2027 (first Italian ship), mid-2029 (second Italian), end of 2029 (first French), end of 2030 (second French)[1](https://www.occar.int/our-work/programmes/horizon-mlufremm-multi-mission-frigates) |
## Origins in the Common New Generation Frigate
The Horizon class descends from the Common New Generation Frigate (CNGF), a collaborative program of the United Kingdom, France, and Italy intended to replace aging air-defense escorts, including the [Royal Navy](https://www.edgepedia.org/royal-navy)'s Type 42 destroyers. The Tri-Partite Staff Requirement was approved by the three nations in December 1992, and Project Horizon covered the warship itself while the separate PAAMS project covered the missile system.[2](https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm199900/cmselect/cmdfence/528/528we10.htm) The program descended in turn from the failed NATO Frigate Replacement for the 1990s, terminated in 1989.[8](https://www.usni.org/magazines/proceedings/1999/june/world-naval-developments-british-deep-six-project-horizon)
**British withdrawal.** The original in-service date of December 2002 slipped to June 2004, largely from the need to synchronise the warship and combat system programs, and industry's April 1999 offer pointed to a UK first-of-class delayed to 2007.[9](https://hansard.parliament.uk/Lords%E2%80%8F/1999-06-09/debates/0424f1b1-ae03-4e37-89ee-fb2c0ffa0205/CommonNewGenerationFrigate) The three nations agreed on 25 April 1999 that pursuing a single prime contractor for the ship was not cost-effective, and the tri-national program ended on completion of its Project Definition and Initial Design Phase at the end of October 1999. The UK then took forward a national program, the [Type 45 destroyer](https://www.edgepedia.org/type-45-destroyer), building on the tri-national work, while collaboration on PAAMS continued.[2](https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm199900/cmselect/cmdfence/528/528we10.htm) The UK wrote off between £75 and £200 million of investment, depending on how much was assessed as reusable in the Type 45.[10](https://www.queensu.ca/cidp/sites/cidpwww/files/uploaded_files/Claxton11.pdf) The Horizon Memorandum of Understanding had assumed French procurement of four ships and Italian procurement of six.[2](https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm199900/cmselect/cmdfence/528/528we10.htm) France and Italy launched the bilateral program in 2000.[11](https://www.assemblee-nationale.fr/13/rap-info/i0717.asp)
The partners' differing requirements ran deep. The British wanted escorts able to protect other ships, while the French and Italians were willing to settle for self-defense capability, and they favored different multifunction radars, the British Sampson versus the European EMPAR.[8](https://www.usni.org/magazines/proceedings/1999/june/world-naval-developments-british-deep-six-project-horizon) The UK also wanted a larger share of the work and a different weapons layout.[12](https://www.historyofwar.org/articles/weapons_hcngf.html)
## Design and armament
The four frigates were built between 2000 and 2010 under a joint program between [Fincantieri](https://www.edgepedia.org/fincantieri) and [Naval Group](https://www.edgepedia.org/naval-group).[3](https://www.fincantieri.com/en/newsroom/press-releases/2023/contract-for-the-midlife-upgrade-mlu-of-the-horizon-class-frigates) They are front-line ships with one highly specialized mission, anti-air warfare: airspace control over an area of operations, air-defense command and control, and anti-air cover for carrier groups and convoys, with protection against high-intensity threats and anti-ship missile attack.[3](https://www.fincantieri.com/en/newsroom/press-releases/2023/contract-for-the-midlife-upgrade-mlu-of-the-horizon-class-frigates) The French Navy's order of battle lists the two FDA ships at 7,000 tonnes displacement with crews of 136 sailors.[13](https://www.colsbleus.defense.gouv.fr/sites/default/files/2025-01/2025_MPAR_PAO_MAQUETTE_DIM_ANGLAIS_BD.pdf)
**PAAMS.** The Principal Anti-Air Missile System is the main armament of the four Horizon frigates and of the six British Type 45 destroyers. It performs three missions simultaneously: self-protection of the carrying ship, local defense of a group of ships, and medium-range area defense from 30 to 100 km. The system combines the EMPAR multifunction radar for France and Italy (Sampson for the UK), the S1850M long-range surveillance radar, [Aster](https://www.edgepedia.org/aster-missile-family) 15 and Aster 30 missiles from the FSAF missile family, Sylver vertical launch modules, and a command-and-control system integrated into the ship's combat system.[4](https://www.senat.fr/rap/r10-733/r10-73360.html) EMPAR operates at C-band, performing 3D detection, multiple-target tracking, and missile guidance concurrently, with a maximum range of about 150 km against threats including high-diving and sea-skimming missiles, aircraft, and helicopters.[6](https://www.navalanalyses.com/2014/07/horizon-class-destroyers-of-french-and.html?m=1) The Aster missile uses the PIF-PAF control system, combining aerodynamic steering with lateral gas-jet thrust at the missile's center of gravity.[4](https://www.senat.fr/rap/r10-733/r10-73360.html)
**Other weapons.** The French ships carry eight MM-40 Exocet B3 anti-ship missiles alongside the PAAMS system.[5](https://www.defense.gouv.fr/marine/forces-surface/fregates-defense-aerienne)
## Service
The French ships entered service around the end of the 2000s; *Chevalier Paul*, third of the series, was delivered to the French Navy at the end of 2009.[14](https://www.defense.gouv.fr/cesm/nos-publications/breves-marines-du-cesm/breves-marines-ndeg103-hautes-technologies-lhorizon) *Caio Duilio* passed the tests for the PAAMS anti-air missile system in 2012 and was recognized as combat ready that year.[15](https://www.marina.difesa.it/EN/thefleet/home/Pagine/CaioDuilio.aspx)
The class has been exercised and deployed widely. In 2012 *Forbin* intercepted a supersonic target simulating a low-altitude anti-ship missile, a first in Europe, with the target destroyed by an Aster 30 within a few tens of seconds of detection and tracking.[16](https://www.irsem.fr/storage/file_manager_files/2025/03/ada376.pdf) • [17](https://www.deagel.com/news/n000010181) During Operation Harmattan off Libya in 2011, *Forbin* and *Chevalier Paul* provided protection for naval groups linked to the carrier *Charles de Gaulle* and for the amphibious ships *Tonnerre* and *Mistral*.[17](https://www.deagel.com/news/n000010181) *Caio Duilio* served as flagship of the European Union's Operation Aspides in the [Red Sea](https://www.edgepedia.org/red-sea) region until handing the role to the frigate *Virginio Fasan* at Djibouti on 24 April 2024.[18](https://www.marina.difesa.it/media-cultura/Notiziario-online/Pagine/20240430_Operazione_EUNAVFOR_ASPIDES_Nave_Fasan_assume_il_ruolo_di_flagship.aspx) On 15 October 2025, *Forbin* intercepted an AASM air-to-ground guided bomb fired from a Rafale Marine using an Aster 30, in an engagement in which the PAAMS system detected, classified, identified, tracked, and engaged the target with virtually no human intervention.[19](https://www.meretmarine.com/fr/defense/la-fregate-forbin-intercepte-un-aasm-tire-d-un-rafale-avec-un-missile-aster) • [20](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=giCLCHA2ztA)
## Mid-Life Upgrade
France and Italy ordered the renovation of all four ships through a Mid-Life Upgrade (MLU) managed by OCCAR, the Organisation for Joint Armament Cooperation, which notified the contract on 28 July 2023. The upgrade includes renovation of the PAAMS air-defense system and a redesign of the combat system, and falls within the French military planning law for 2024 to 2030.[7](https://www.defense.gouv.fr/dga/actualites/france-litalie-commandent-renovation-fregates-defense-aerienne-forbin-chevalier-paul-marine) The contract, worth €1.5 billion to the co-contractors Naviris and eurosam, delivers a new generation of PAAMS and long-range radar built around the enhanced Aster 30 B1NT missile (B1 Nouvelle Technologie), an upgraded launcher, two new AESA radars, the Kronos Grand Naval from Leonardo and the SMART-L MM/N from Thales, and a new command-and-control system with an open software architecture.[3](https://www.fincantieri.com/en/newsroom/press-releases/2023/contract-for-the-midlife-upgrade-mlu-of-the-horizon-class-frigates) The French Ministry of Armed Forces states that the renovated frigates will operate the full range of Aster missiles, with the Aster 30 B1NT Naval able to address a broad spectrum of threats including ballistic missiles.[7](https://www.defense.gouv.fr/dga/actualites/france-litalie-commandent-renovation-fregates-defense-aerienne-forbin-chevalier-paul-marine)
The program passed its first Critical Design Review in April 2025. Integration of the new systems is planned from mid-2026 for the first Italian ship and mid-2028 for the first French ship, with activities expected to complete around the end of 2030 plus a guarantee period. The major changes concern the anti-air warfare and electronic warfare domains, with national variants for other combat and platform systems.[1](https://www.occar.int/our-work/programmes/horizon-mlufremm-multi-mission-frigates) • [21](https://www.naviris.com/horizon-mid-life-upgrade-milestone-italy-france/) In-service support of the Italian ships is handled under a Maintenance in Operational Conditions framework agreement awarded to Orizzonte Sistemi Navali, the Fincantieri and Leonardo joint venture, covering platform systems including propulsion, electrical generation, and the helicopter transport system.[22](https://www.fincantieri.com/globalassets/press-releases/price-sensitive/2023/fincantieri-moc-programme-of-the-cavour-and-horizon-class-ships-awarded-to-orizzonte-sistemi-navali.pdf)
## Relationship to the FREMM program
The Horizon class sits alongside the Franco-Italian FREMM (European Multi-Mission Frigate) program, also managed by OCCAR since 2005, which comprises 18 ships, eight for France and ten for Italy, in anti-submarine, air-defense (FREDA), and general-purpose versions.[1](https://www.occar.int/our-work/programmes/horizon-mlufremm-multi-mission-frigates) The French Ministry of Armed Forces describes the two air-defense FREMM ships, *Alsace* and *Lorraine*, as complementary to the two Horizon-type air-defense frigates, giving France four Aster 30-capable area air-defense surface combatants.[23](https://www.defense.gouv.fr/dga/fregate-multimissions-fremm) • [13](https://www.colsbleus.defense.gouv.fr/sites/default/files/2025-01/2025_MPAR_PAO_MAQUETTE_DIM_ANGLAIS_BD.pdf) The technological work of the Horizon MLU also feeds forward: the two FREMM EVO frigates ordered by Italy in 2024 under a contract of approximately €1.5 billion capitalize on developments from the Horizon-class Mid-Life Upgrade project.[24](https://www.fincantieri.com/en/newsroom/press-releases/2024/orizzonte-sistemi-navali-signs-1-5-billion-contract-for-two-fremm-evo-frigates-for-the-italian-navy)
## References
1. [OCCAR – HORIZON MLU/FREMM Multi Mission Frigates](https://www.occar.int/our-work/programmes/horizon-mlufremm-multi-mission-frigates)
2. [House of Commons Defence Committee – Written Evidence on the Type 45 and PAAMS](https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm199900/cmselect/cmdfence/528/528we10.htm)
3. [Fincantieri – Contract for the Mid-Life Upgrade (MLU) of the Horizon Class Frigates, 31 July 2023](https://www.fincantieri.com/en/newsroom/press-releases/2023/contract-for-the-midlife-upgrade-mlu-of-the-horizon-class-frigates)
4. [Sénat – La défense antimissile balistique : bouclier militaire ou défi stratégique ? Rapport n° 733 (2010-2011)](https://www.senat.fr/rap/r10-733/r10-73360.html)
5. [Ministère des Armées – Frégates de défense aérienne (FDA)](https://www.defense.gouv.fr/marine/forces-surface/fregates-defense-aerienne)
6. [Naval Analyses – Horizon class destroyers of the French and Italian Navy](https://www.navalanalyses.com/2014/07/horizon-class-destroyers-of-french-and.html?m=1)
7. [Ministère des Armées – La France et l'Italie commandent la rénovation des frégates de défense aérienne](https://www.defense.gouv.fr/dga/actualites/france-litalie-commandent-renovation-fregates-defense-aerienne-forbin-chevalier-paul-marine)
8. [Norman Friedman, "British Deep-Six Project Horizon," U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings, June 1999](https://www.usni.org/magazines/proceedings/1999/june/world-naval-developments-british-deep-six-project-horizon)
9. [Hansard, House of Lords – Common New Generation Frigate, 9 June 1999](https://hansard.parliament.uk/Lords%E2%80%8F/1999-06-09/debates/0424f1b1-ae03-4e37-89ee-fb2c0ffa0205/CommonNewGenerationFrigate)
10. [Claxton, United Kingdom Warship Procurement Strategies, Queen's University Centre for International and Defence Policy](https://www.queensu.ca/cidp/sites/cidpwww/files/uploaded_files/Claxton11.pdf)
11. [Assemblée nationale – Rapport d'information n° 717 sur le financement des projets d'équipement naval militaire](https://www.assemblee-nationale.fr/13/rap-info/i0717.asp)
12. [History of War – Horizon Common New Generation Frigate](https://www.historyofwar.org/articles/weapons_hcngf.html)
13. [Marine nationale – Order of battle (2025)](https://www.colsbleus.defense.gouv.fr/sites/default/files/2025-01/2025_MPAR_PAO_MAQUETTE_DIM_ANGLAIS_BD.pdf)
14. [Ministère des Armées, CESM – Brèves Marines n° 103](https://www.defense.gouv.fr/cesm/nos-publications/breves-marines-du-cesm/breves-marines-ndeg103-hautes-technologies-lhorizon)
15. [Marina Militare – Destroyer Caio Duilio](https://www.marina.difesa.it/EN/thefleet/home/Pagine/CaioDuilio.aspx)
16. [IRSEM – Annuaire de la défense aérienne (ADA 376)](https://www.irsem.fr/storage/file_manager_files/2025/03/ada376.pdf)
17. [Deagel – Chevalier Paul Frigate Aster 30 Missile Intercepts Supersonic Sea-Skimming Target](https://www.deagel.com/news/n000010181)
18. [Marina Militare – Operazione EUNAVFOR ASPIDES, Nave Fasan assume il ruolo di flagship](https://www.marina.difesa.it/media-cultura/Notiziario-online/Pagine/20240430_Operazione_EUNAVFOR_ASPIDES_Nave_Fasan_assume_il_ruolo_di_flagship.aspx)
19. [Mer et Marine – La frégate Forbin intercepte un AASM tiré d'un Rafale avec un missile Aster](https://www.meretmarine.com/fr/defense/la-fregate-forbin-intercepte-un-aasm-tire-d-un-rafale-avec-un-missile-aster)
20. [Naval News (video) – French Navy destroyer Forbin fires missile against unusual target](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=giCLCHA2ztA)
21. [Naviris – Horizon Mid-Life Upgrade Programme achieves a major milestone, 10 April 2025](https://www.naviris.com/horizon-mid-life-upgrade-milestone-italy-france/)
22. [Fincantieri – MOC programme of the Cavour and Horizon class ships awarded to Orizzonte Sistemi Navali, 19 July 2023](https://www.fincantieri.com/globalassets/press-releases/price-sensitive/2023/fincantieri-moc-programme-of-the-cavour-and-horizon-class-ships-awarded-to-orizzonte-sistemi-navali.pdf)
23. [Ministère des Armées, DGA – La frégate multimissions (FREMM)](https://www.defense.gouv.fr/dga/fregate-multimissions-fremm)
24. [Fincantieri – Orizzonte Sistemi Navali signs €1.5 billion contract for two FREMM EVO frigates, 31 July 2024](https://www.fincantieri.com/en/newsroom/press-releases/2024/orizzonte-sistemi-navali-signs-1-5-billion-contract-for-two-fremm-evo-frigates-for-the-italian-navy)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Technology and the built world › Transport and spaceflight › Water transport › Warships and naval vessels › Destroyers, frigates, and corvettes › Titles A to Se*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 15, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026 · Last review: Oct 15, 2026*
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