French ship Dupuy de Lôme (A759)

The Dupuy de Lôme (A759), named after the 19th century engineer Dupuy de Lôme, is a ship designed for the collection of signals and communications beyond enemy lines, which entered the service of the French Navy in April 2006. In contrast to the Bougainville, the ship that she replaced, the Dupuy de Lôme was specifically designed for sea intelligence, pursuant to the MINREM project (Moyen Interarmées Naval de recherche ElectroMagnétique, "Joint Naval Resources for Electromagnetic Research").

Design
The Dupuy de Lôme was designed by Thales Naval France on civilian standards. She provides a 350-day-operational availability a year, out of which 240 can be spent at sea. The ship is operated by two Navy crews, each composed of 33 sailors and 33 technicians, and an optional complement of up to 38 specialists, depending on the mission. The specialised personnel operates under the Direction du renseignement militaire.

Sources and references

 * Dupuy de Lôme, Ministry of Defence
 * Navire collecteur de renseignements Dupuy de Lôme, netmarine.net