French ship Monge (A601)

Monge arriving in Reykjavík Harbour in May 2012
History
France
NameMonge
NamesakeGaspard Monge
Ordered25 November 1988
BuilderChantiers de l'Atlantique, Saint-Nazaire
Laid down26 March 1990
Launched6 October 1990
Commissioned5 November 1992
IdentificationHull number A 601
StatusShip in active service
General characteristics
TypeTracking ship
Displacement
  • 17,760 long tons (18,040 t) standard
  • 21,040 long tons (21,380 t) full load
Length225.6 m (740 ft 2 in)
Beam24.8 m (81 ft 4 in)
Draught7.7 m (25 ft 3 in)
Propulsion
  • 2 × SEMT Pielstick 8PC 2.5 L400 diesel engines
  • 7,800 kW (10,400 hp)
  • 1 × shaft
  • 1 × 1,360 kW (1,820 hp) bow thruster
Speed16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph)
Range15,000 nmi (28,000 km; 17,000 mi) at 15 kn (28 km/h; 17 mph)
Complement115 + 90 military and civilian technicians
Sensors and
processing systems
  • 1 × Thomson-CSF DRBV air search radar
  • 1 × Gascogne missile tracking radar
  • 2 × Armor missile tracking radar
  • 1 × Savoie missile tracking radar
  • 1 × Stratus trajectory tracking radar
  • 6 × Antares telemetry radar
Armament
Aircraft carried1 × Aérospatiale Alouette III helicopter
Aviation facilities
  • 650 m2 (7,000 sq ft) platform
  • 180 m2 (1,900 sq ft) hangar, can operate heavy helicopters.

Monge (A601), named after the 18th century mathematician Gaspard Monge, is a unique missile range instrumentation ship of the French Navy dedicated to tracking and measuring rocket trajectories. She was built for the trials of the submarine-launched ballistic missiles of the French Navy, and is also used to monitor the launch of Ariane rockets. The ship was built by Chantiers de l'Atlantique, Saint-Nazaire and was launched on 6 October 1990. The vessel entered service on 5 November 1992 and is based at Brest, France.