  The gamma-ray detector of HETE-2, called FREGATE, has been designed to detect
gamma-ray bursts in the energy range [6-400] keV. Its main task is to alert the
other instruments of the occurrence of a gamma-ray burst (GRB) and to provide
the spectral coverage of the GRB prompt emission in hard X-rays and soft
gamma-rays. FREGATE was switched on on October 16, 2000, one week after the
successful launch of HETE-2, and has been continuously working since then. We
describe here the main characteristics of the instrument, its in-flight
performance and we briefly discuss the first GRB observations.
