Article Posted on : - Nov 26, 2011

The new landing catamaran EDA-R. A French Navy photo

PARIS (BNS): The French Directorate General of Armaments (DGA) has taken delivery of the first fast amphibious landing craft (EDA-R) for the Navy.

The EDA-R, which will be used for building Projection and Command (BPC) of the Navy, was delivered on Nov 24, the DGA said.

Based on the concept of L-CAT - Landing Catamaran, patented by CNIM (Industrial construction of the Mediterranean), the EDA-R is designed to perform landing of troops and military vehicles from ships positioned beyond the horizon (30 nautiques/55 km) off the shore.

The 30 meters long and 12 meters wide vessel has a payload of 80 tons and a speed of 18 knots while fully loaded. It offers five times the landing capacity of existing landing craft presently in service with the French Navy.

The EDA-R will be operated by the French Navy's Mistral-class Bâtiments de Projection et de Commandement (BPC) amphibious warfare ships.

The French Navy has ordered four such vessels. The other three ships are scheduled to be delivered by mid-2012.