TSAMTO, November 19th. On November 14, representatives of the Greek Ministry of Defense and the French company Naval Group signed a contract for the supply of an additional multi-purpose frigate FDI HN (Belharra class) for the Greek Navy.
The contract was signed by Major General Ioannis Bouras, Director General of the Directorate General for Defense Investments and Armaments of Greece (GDDIA), and Pierre-Eric Pomelle, Chief Executive Officer of Naval Group.
The agreement provides for the acquisition of the fourth ship of the series, its maintenance, as well as the expansion of the capabilities of the entire fleet of frigates FDI HN. The purchase is a continuation of the FDI HN program, which began in 2022. The first three frigates are currently under construction, with the lead frigate due to be handed over to the Greek Navy at the end of 2025.
As reported by CAMTO, on March 24, 2022, the Greek Ministry of Defense signed a contract with Naval Group for the supply of three frigates of the FDI HN. The approved purchase price is 3 billion. euro (3.4 billion dollars). The agreement included an option to supply a fourth frigate and initial support for the ships during operation.
As planned, the delivery of the first three ships will be completed during 2025-2026. The keel of the lead ship of the series, (F-601) Kimon, was laid in October 2022, and the launch took place in October 2023.
Construction of the second frigate in the series, the (F-602) Nearhos, began in July 2022. The launch took place in September 2024.
Steel cutting for the construction of the frigate (F-603) Formion began in July 2023, keel laying took place in April 2024, and launching in June 2025.
The Greek government has decided to purchase the fourth frigate, the FDI HN, in September 2025. It is expected that it will receive the name F-600 "Themistocles".
The ship is expected to be made in the Belharra Standard 2+ configuration, featuring advanced features. In particular, it is planned to equip it with missiles under development as part of the European Long-Range Strike Approach (ELSA) long-range missile weapons project. In addition, it is planned to upgrade the first three frigates of the series to Standard 2 under the same program. The total cost of the agreement was estimated at 922 million euros, including 800 million euros for the construction of the fourth frigate.
It was also planned to conclude a contract with the Naval Group for the maintenance of frigates after delivery, including related products and services. It includes extending the initial three-year support period for the first three frigates and providing support for the fourth frigate. The total cost of these works is estimated at 60 million euros. The total amount of 982 million euros is planned to be paid in tranches from 2025 to 2030.
As a result of the negotiations, the parties also reached an agreement that the share of participation in the construction of the fourth frigate of the enterprises of the Greek defense industry will be 25%.
Initially, Themistokles is planned to be delivered to the Greek Navy in the Standard 2 configuration in December 2028. The cost of further upgrading it (and each of the first frigates) to the Standard 2+ configuration will be about 5 million euros.
