HS Kimon - Hellenic Future Frigate - HF2 / FDI
The FDI for the Hellenic Navy is a 4,500-tonne warship. Multipurpose and resilient, she will enable the Hellenic Navy to ensure its maritime superiority in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea thanks to her high-level capabilities in all areas of naval combat: anti-air, anti-submarine, anti-ship, and special forces projection, with unique capabilities against asymmetric threats. She also benefits from the latest Thales innovations in radar, sonar and electronic warfare. Strongly armed (MBDA Exocet MM40 B3C anti-surface and Aster anti-missile missiles, RAM systems, MU90 anti-submarine torpedoes, artillery), HS Nearchos embarks simultaneously a helicopter and a capacity of aerial vehicle (UAV). She also benefits from the expertise of Thales, MBDA, and all our other partners and subcontractors.
On 19 September 2024, the launching ceremony of the second FDI frigate Hellenic Ship (HS) Nearchos took place in the Naval Group shipyard in Lorient. The ceremonial launching took place in the presence of Nikolaos Dendias, Minister of National Defence of the Hellenic Republic, and General Gaël Diaz de Tuesta, Director of the International Direction of the French General Armament Directorate (representing Sébastien Lecornu, the French Minister of the Armed Forces). General Dimitrios Choupis, Chief of the Hellenic National Defence General Staff (or HNDGS), Vice Admiral Dimitrios E. Kataras, Chief of Hellenic Navy General Staff (or HNGS) as well as the General Director of GDDIA, Major General Ioannis Bouras were also attending the ceremony.
The HS Nearchos frigate joined on the Scorff river her sistership HS Kimon, which was then undergoing harbor trials before starting on her first sea trials. HS Nearchos will receive its Panoramic Sensors and Intelligence Module (PSIM) a few weeks after its launching. The three Hellenic Frigates were at an advanced stage of production, as the third unit, HS Formion, whose keel laying of its first block took place in April, has completed its hull assembly this August. One of her blocks, section 8, was manufactured by Salamis Shipyards in Greece. The three frigates would be delivered in 2025 and 2026.
This event is once again an opportunity to highlight the success of the solid, long-term industrial cooperation between France and Greece, which was characterized in particular by the integration of numerous Greek manufacturers into Naval Group's supply chain. As such, HS Nearchos, as well as the other FDI frigates, incorporates several equipment "made in Greece".
On 28 September 2021, Nikólaos Panayotópoulos, the Greek Minister of Defence, Pierre Eric Pommellet, CEO of Naval Group, and Eric Béranger, CEO of MBDA, signed a Memorandum of Understanding to open negotiations to provide the Hellenic Navy (HN) with three Defence and Intervention frigates (FDI HN) and their equipment as well as an optional additional frigate. The FDI HN frigates would be built for three billion euros ($3.5 billion) in the Naval Group shipyard in Lorient, where the second in the series for the French Navy has just entered production. In the France-Greece deal, the two sides had until the end of this year to reach a final agreement.
On 10 December 2021 the USS State Department made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale to the Government of Greece of four (4) Multi-Mission Surface Combatant (MMSC) ships and related equipment for an estimated cost of $6.9 billion. Also included are support and test equipment; spare and repair parts; and communications equipment. The principal contractor will be Lockheed Martin of Bethesda, MD. There are no known offset agreements proposed in connection with this potential sale.
France's armed forces announced on 11 December 2021 that a contract for Greece to buy three French frigates had just been signed, saying it scuppered a competing offer from the United States the day before. "Since we have been in discussion with the Greeks, the American offer is no longer on the table ... We also signed the contract with the Greeks. It was initialled a few days ago," the armed forces ministry told AFP. The US announcement suggested that France faced a fresh commercial arms deal threat after the United States wrested away a massive submarine contract for Australia in a shock announcement on September 15 that ruptured relations between Washington and Paris.
The Greek Ministries of Defense and France signed a letter of intent on 10 October 2019 regarding the purchase of two Belharra class frigates (Belharra / Fregate de Defense et Intervention - FDI) for the Greek fleet. According to the Minister of the Armed Forces of France, Florence Parley, during a visit to Paris by the Minister of Defense of Greece, Nikos Panayotopoulos, a letter of intent was signed that will allow Greece to proceed with the project for the purchase of two FDI frigates, which will also go into service with the French Navy (from 2023) . The head of the Greek defense department clarified for media representatives that before reaching an agreement on the final (technical) configuration of the frigates, there was still a long way to go. The Greek Navy needs to purchase several multi-purpose frigates. One of the decisive factors of choice is equipping them with the MBDA Naval Cruise Missile cruise missile. It is not planned to equip the French Navy frigates with this missile, but France is ready to offer its sale as part of a deal to supply FDI Greece frigates.
During negotiations on the sale of ships of the Navy of Greece, Paris invited Athens to take part in the Belharra program, which would make it possible to obtain frigates at the lowest cost in the necessary configuration. In addition, if an agreement was reached, it was proposed to lay down two Greek ships immediately after the head frigate for the French Navy.
By mid-2019 Athens was negotiating with Naval Group for the purchase of up to four Belharra-class frigates, a move that could resolve the Greek Navy’s 10-year search for a multi-purpose frigate. The first FDI was due to be delivered to the French navy in 2023, with the last by 2030. Greece would receive the second ship, while the French navy would receive the third, and the second Greek ship would be the fourth built. Two FDI ships were due to be delivered by 2025.
The Embassy of France hosted a signing event on 13 February 2020 a series of agreements between French and Greek actors and bodies industry and research. Naval Group signed agreements with nine Greek industrial partners and academic space, as part of the acquisition program of two defense frigates and FDI intervention ( Belh@rra class ) for the Greek Navy. Thales and MBDA, which also participates in the frigate program, also signed agreements with industrial groups.
Finally, in order to strengthen the relations between the two shipbuilding sectors countries, the French Shipbuilding Association (GICAN) has signed an agreement partnership with the Association of Greek Defense Equipment Manufacturers (SEKPY). The agreements provide for three axes:
- The participation of the Greek partners in the industrial construction activities frigates and other vessels, as well as their maintenance
- The upgrade of Greece to a maritime innovation center, including the production and maintenance of state-of-the-art 'digital' frigates
- The promotion of Greek shipping activities in their entirety
Alain Guillou, the Naval Group Director General for Development, said: "We want to build a long-term partnership with the Greek one industry and prepare the innovation of the future through growth research & development collaborative projects, such as the NTUA for composite additives and energy, with the University of Patras for drones, and with the University of Crete on robotics and factory. According to him opportunities for researchers and start-ups are increasing, with a view to the further development and creation of technological wealth to support it industrial fabric in the maritime sector ".
By 2021 the needs of the Navy for new frigates were proposed to be covered by 4 FDI (Frégate de Defense et d'Intervention), the first of which will be built at its facilities in Lorient, while the the remaining three will be built in Greece. The first will be delivered in 2025, a time that according to the Naval Group is an extremely short period of time for a ship of this size and complexity, something that was made possible by the recent optimization of the Marine Nationale shipbuilding program.
The other three will follow in 2027, 2028 and 2029 respectively, also record times as it is pointed out, which will be achieved by making full use of the experience of the Greek technical and scientific staff from the construction of the first ship and the close cooperation of the company with Greek shipyard to be selected to implement the project. Naval Group reveals that, despite the limitations and difficulties that exist from the COVID-19 pandemic, its multi-member team has in recent months conducted extensive research and contacts in Greece to update the effort to assess domestic infrastructure and find partners.
The three French companies, which are the hard core of shipbuilding industry, renewed their appointment with their Greek partners for the Industry Day that will be organized in Greece in a few weeks. The Patrick Maisonnave, Ambassador of France, in the context of prospects welcomed, welcomed the beginnings of a fruitful strategic partnership and security between Greece and France, following the initiative of the French President of the Republic, Emmanuel Macron, and the Greek Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotaki, announced on January 29, 2020 in Paris. "In this context partnership, in addition to political consultations and joint exercises, the intention for enhanced industrial cooperation was additionally announced. The These agreements represent the necessary first stage for its construction. Including research organizations, we do not just prepare the ground for positive economic results, but also for technological excellence, which, combined with the personnel of the armed forces, form its basis military value and the creation of a 'Europe of defense'. »
The Louis Le Pivain, vice GICAN, said: "We are honored that we in Athens for the signing of this founding act for their cooperation manufacturers of shipbuilding defense equipment of the two countries. Our companies, and in particular small and medium-sized enterprises and medium-sized enterprises in the industry, they must now seize the opportunity offered by the agreement by complying with the priorities of European defense and the bilateral commitments of Greece and Of France".
Kyriakos Mitsotakis had the opportunity 05 June 2024 to see the advanced stage of construction of the "Kimon" frigate , which will be delivered at the beginning of 2025 to the Navy (P.N.), at the Lorient shipyards in France, where he stopped for a few hours accompanied by the minister of National Defense Nikos Dendia , before going to Normandy for the 80th anniversary of the Allied landings in 1944. The prime minister was also given a tour of the shipyards for the other two FDI-type frigates ( "Nearchos" and "Formion" ) which were expected to be delivered around the end of 2025 and 2026 respectively. The presence of Mitsotakis at the shipyards of the Naval Group shows the interest of Athens in a program which will deliver the new surface units to P.N. for the first time since 1998 (when the PN received the "Salamis" frigate), indeed in this particular case the most technologically developed warships at the European level.
No other navy in the region, let alone the Turkish one, has corresponding radar capabilities and in fact the latest technology unknown until now even in allied countries with what this implies for the coming years. The 76mm Oto Melara cannon has the ability to use, among other things, without any particular modification, Vulcano ammunition, which is considered extremely effective compared to conventional ammunition, especially for dealing with targets such as unmanned UAVs, which are now widely used in the modern business environment.
They are guided at distances of up to 40 kilometers , with Ballistic Extended Range, Guided Long Range and Guided Long Range Infra-Red functions. With the Vulcanos in their "quiver" the FDI will have, next to the RAM and the 20 mm Narwal guns, an additional weapon for the close protection of the ships.
Visible at the rear of "KIMON" and above the closed hangar that will house the ship's organic helicopter – the MH-60 Romeos intended for the FDI – the RAM base with the 21 missiles has already been installed. This is a weapon system that differentiates the Greek from the French Belharra along with twice the number of Aster launchers as the Greek will have 32 Aster 30 while the French will have 16 although the Marine Nationale is already oriented towards the Greek configuration of the FDI
The powerful SEA-FIRE radar with AESA (Active Electronically Scanned Array) technology has a range of up to 300 kilometers, effectively "locking" almost the entire Aegean.
At the end of the summer 2024, at the beginning of October, 120 officers and non-commissioned officers of the Navy (who had been selected) left for France, specifically for Lorient, to begin their training on the first Greek frigate Belh@rra "Kimon", which according to the schedule it starts in the fall the tests in the bay. It also began sea trials in early 2025 for delivery to the Navy in March 2025.
At the same time, financial space is being sought for the purchase of a fourth frigate for €1 billion, while the third frigate ("Formion") has had its keel installed and is starting to take shape. Mitsotakis' visit to Lorient had rekindled in the previous days the discussion about the possibility of buying a fourth FDI frigate or advancing the program of new corvettes in the French direction, but it seems that although these scenarios remain active, there is no final decision. Mitsotakis together with Mr. Dendias, as well as the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of France Chrysoula Zacharopoulou who welcomed them, also visited the echelon of P.N. in Lorient, from where they were informed by the commander of the echelon, Vice-Admiral Theoharis Hatzopoulos , about the course of implementation of the frigate program.
"It is the most important upgrade of our Navy in recent decades, a very important addition to our country's deterrent capability. I want to express my satisfaction at the rapid progress of the implementation of this very ambitious equipment program, as the first of the three frigates, the "Kimon", is already in the water and is expected to be delivered to the Navy within 2025.
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