The French Navy has recently conducted a rare shock trial with the Courbet-class La Fayette frigate—the first such test in almost three decades.

On 25 January 2025, off the coast of Toulon, the frigate Courbet underwent a shock trial, a test to assess the ship’s structural integrity and resistance in the event of a nearby naval mine explosion.

This test was intended to simulate the extreme conditions a warship might face in combat scenarios involving explosions.

Watch the video released by the French Navy and the Ministry of Defence:

#Experiment | The resistance of the FLF Courbet to the explosion of a naval mine!💥 This experiment called “shock test” was carried out to assess the resistance of the building and equipment to a major explosion, in a context of increasing threats. 

The results of this test are crucial for the POLARIS initiative, launched in 2021, which aims to ensure that the French Navy’s fleet can withstand extreme conditions, with a particular focus on the resilience of warships exposed to high-intensity combat environments.

This was the first shock trial conducted by the French Navy since 1995. At that time, a 250 kg TNT bomb was detonated 30 metres from the frigate La Fayette to test its endurance.

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