France Launches Second Frigate For the Greek Navy

Nearchos, the caller summation to the Hellenic Navy, was launched connected Thursday successful France. Credit: Video screenshot/Naval Group

France’s Naval Group launched the 2nd Greek frigate, Nearchos, from its shipyard successful Lorient connected Thursday.

This follows the palmy motorboat of the archetypal frigate, Kimon, exactly 1 twelvemonth ago, marking the advancement successful Greece’s acquisition of 3 defence and involution frigates (FDI) nether a declaration with the French defence company.

Greek Defense Minister, Nikos Dendias said that the summation of the frigate to the Hellenic Navy volition “strengthen our beingness successful the Eastern Mediterranean, protecting, astatine the aforesaid time, the borders and the interests of the European Union.”

He added that Greece volition ever respect International Law. “We ne'er question the ineligible rights of different countries successful the region. Always respecting the rules of International Law and those provided by the United Nations Convention connected the Law of the Sea.

“Based connected protecting our communal European values. For the Europe of peace, democracy, quality rights and idiosyncratic freedoms. Values, the defence of which we anticipation each countries successful the portion volition adopt.”

France’s Greek frigates

The Kimon-class frigates, designated arsenic FDI HN (Frégate de Défense et d’Intervention for the Hellenic Navy), are a caller people of warships developed for Greece arsenic portion of its naval modernization efforts. These ships are based connected the French FDI frigate plan but person been tailored to conscionable the circumstantial needs of the Hellenic Navy.

The Kimon-class frigates are built to excel successful aggregate combat roles, including anti-air, anti-surface, and anti-submarine warfare, on with peculiar forces operations.

They are equipped with a broad suite of precocious weapons and sensors, including MBDA’s Exocet MM40 B3C missiles for aboveground targets and Aster missiles for aerial defense. Their antiaircraft systems see RAM (Rolling Airframe Missile) systems and MU90 torpedoes for submarine threats. The frigates besides diagnostic a 76 mm main gun, 4 torpedo tubes, and physics warfare capabilities.

The ships are designed to enactment a 10-ton chopper and a Vertical Take-Off and Landing (VTOL) unmanned aerial conveyance (UAV).

Construction of the Kimon-class frigates is underway, with the archetypal ship, HS Kimon (F601), launched connected October 4, 2023, astatine the Naval Group shipyard successful Lorient, France.

This marked the archetypal important summation to Greece’s aboveground fleet successful implicit 2 decades, underscoring the value of the program. Following the motorboat of HS Kimon, which is expected to sail successful Greek waters successful 2025, and HS Nearchos connected Thursday, the 3rd vas HS Formion (F603), is nether construction, with commissioning expected betwixt 2025 and 2026.

The frigates carnivore the names of Kimon (Κίμων), an admiral in Alexander the Great‘s service who gained fame for his valor successful the naval Battle of Salamis in 480 BC, Nearchos (Νέαρχος), an admiral successful the Athenian service earlier and during the Peloponnesian War, and Phormionas (Φορμίων), an admiral and commandant of Athens.

The Kimon-class frigates are intended to regenerate older vessels, specified arsenic the Elli-class frigates. The caller ships are well-equipped to grip modern maritime challenges successful the strategically important Eastern Mediterranean region.