EDITED with "hyphens"/"tussenstreepjes"French Navy embarks first Dauphin N helo
01 May 2020
The French Navy (Marine Nationale: MN) has embarked the Airbus Helicopters Dauphin N maritime utility helicopter
aboard a frigate at sea for the first time.
The service announced on 30 April
that one helicopter and its detachment of seven sailors from Flottille 35F
was assigned to the frigate La Fayette from 20 to 25 April 2020,
while the ship sailed off the southern French coast near Toulon.
"This very first embarkation of a Dauphin N
marks the culmination of the long process to marinise these aircraft, going back to 2013," the MN said.
As Jane's first reported in January,
the MN has leased four Dauphin N (also designated a Dauphin N3)
helicopters to bridge the gap
between the soon-to-be-retired Aerospatiale Alouette III and the Airbus Helicopters H160M Guépard
that is due to enter service in 2028.
https://www.janes.com/article/95894/fre ... hin-n-helo