The defence and intervention frigate () or FDI, also known as the Frégate de Taille Intermédiaire () or FTI, is a planned class of French frigates. As of February 2022, five ships have been ordered for the French Navy, with the lead ship being named Amiral Ronarc'h, and an additional three, more heavily armed vessels, for the Hellenic Navy, with the lead ship named Kimon. First steel was cut in October 2019, beginning construction on the lead unit. The lead ship was laid down on 17 December 2021. Commissioning is planned from 2024 onwards. History The Intermediate Frigate (FTI) program was a response to the requirement for fifteen first-class frigates to allow the French Navy to operate in a crisis zone, as recommended in the White Paper on Defense and National Security of 2013. This would see the five FTI ships join the ten FREMM multipurpose frigates (Aquitaine class) and . Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian announced the launch of the five-ship program on 29 May 2015 at the naval aviation base in Lann-Bihoué. In 2021 it was reported that work on the second and third frigates in the series would be accelerated with first steel cut for modules of the second ship of the class envisaged for October. The FTIs, of a contained size, would better correspond to the demands of the export markets according to the Direction générale de l'armement (DGA; English: Directorate General of Armaments) and also make it possible to maintain the development and production capacities of the French shipyards. These ships will incrementally supersede the s, in the role of first rank frigates. In the interim, a modernization of three vessels in the La Fayette class is being undertaken to extend their useful lives into the early 2030s. In November 2022 it was announced that the first two FDI frigates (Amiral Ronarc'h and Amiral Louzeau) would be based at Brest. The FDI will have with significant anti-aircraft capabilities with active antenna radar and fixed planes, anti-submarine capabilities (helicopter and towed sonar), and will have a displacement of . The French Defence Ministry announced the award of a contract to DCNS for the development and construction of five intermediate-size frigates (FTIs) intended for the French Navy on 21 April 2017. The frigates will be equipped with electronic systems and sensors developed by Thales and will be equipped with Aster 30 missiles. The SEA FIRE all-digital multi-function