France is proposing a plan (based on the way its builds Airbus aircraft) for the Italian (Fincantieri) and German (HDW) shipyards to share the work on building new pan-European frigates. France hopes to convince most European countries to buy a single frigate design, with each country selecting the weapons and electronics it wants. France predicts that European countries could buy as many as 50 frigates through 2020, plus 30 more for export sales.--Stephen V Cole