France Doubles FDI Frigates' Aster Missile Load to 32 as Saab Wins Sweden's FDI Weapons Fit

France's defense procurement agency, the DGA, finalized an order on November 6, 2026, at the Euronaval exhibition to double the air-defense missile load of its FDI frigates. The order, placed with Naval Group and MBDA, takes each ship from 16 to 32 Aster missiles and is the centerpiece of a package of naval-weapons announcements the agency made the same day. The DGA release gives no contract value, no schedule and no ship-by-ship detail, and does not say when or how the additional launchers will be fitted to each frigate.

According to the DGA, the Aster 15 has a range of more than 30 km and the Aster 30 extends protection beyond 120 km. The missile already equips the French Navy's carrier Charles de Gaulle, as well as the Horizon air-defense frigates, the FREMM multi-mission frigates and the FDI itself. GlobalMilitary.net's current specification for the FDI lists two Sylver A50 eight-cell launchers for 16 Aster, eight Exocet MM40 Block 3c anti-ship missiles and a 76 mm gun.

The same day, Saab announced an order from Naval Group worth approximately SEK 2 billion to equip the four FDI frigates that Sweden ordered in 2026, with deliveries between 2027 and 2034. The scope covers the weapon control system, the Ceros fire-control director and EOS 500, the RBS15 anti-ship missile, the Saab Lightweight Torpedo, the Trackfire remote weapon station and the Sea Giraffe 1X surveillance radar. The two announcements show the same French design being fitted out differently by each customer: the French ships carry Exocet and Aster, while the Swedish Navy's anti-ship armament will be Saab's RBS15.

The Aster order was one of several naval-weapons items the DGA announced at Euronaval. The agency said it will sign a contract with MBDA for a new standard of the MdCN naval cruise missile, with a range of more than 1,000 km, improved stealth, greater resistance to GNSS jamming, artificial-intelligence components in mission preparation and a better ability to penetrate enemy air defenses; the MdCN is carried by the FREMM frigates and the Suffren-class nuclear attack submarines, and deliveries of the new standard are to start in 2030. The DGA also announced it will sign a framework agreement with MBDA for the Exocet MM40 Block 3c, qualified in 2024, with a range of more than 200 km, a digital radio-altimeter and a new seeker; deliveries are planned from 2029 under the 2024-2030 military programming law, and the framework allows the DGA to order on behalf of partner countries, including with European SAFE funding. Separately, Cyprus, France and Sweden signed a framework agreement for the joint acquisition of MBDA Akeron MP medium-range tactical missiles, partly financed under the EU SAFE instrument and open to other European countries, including a version fired from a light boat.

The DGA has ordered five FDIs for the French Navy, and the lead ship, Amiral Ronarc'h, was delivered in October 2025. GlobalMilitary.net's naval inventory lists Amiral Ronarc'h as active, Amiral Louzeau as fitting out and Amiral Castex, Amiral Nomy and Amiral Cabanier on order. The Hellenic Navy's four ships of the Kimon class are further along: HS Kimon and HS Nearchos are active, with Nearchos delivered on October 30, 2026, HS Phormion is fitting out and HS Themistokles is on order. With Sweden's four, 13 FDIs are now on order or in service across the three navies. The DGA release concerns the French ships only and does not address the Greek or Swedish units.

Saab is to deliver the Swedish systems between 2027 and 2034. Exocet MM40 Block 3c deliveries are planned from 2029 and the first missiles of the new MdCN standard in 2030. The DGA gave no date for fitting the additional Aster launchers.