On September 8, 2026, Greece signed an agreement with Italy on the acquisition of two F 590 Carlo Bergamini and F 591 Virginio Fasan frigates of the FREMM type from the Italian fleet. The transfer of the frigates to Greece will be carried out through the mediation of the Italian shipbuilding association Fincantieri. The agreement was signed in Rome between the General Directorate of Defense Investments and Armaments (GDDIA) of the Greek Ministry of National Defense and the General Directorate of Armaments (Direzione Generale per gli Armamenti) of Italy, in the presence of Italian Defense Minister Guido Crozeto, Greek Minister of National Defense Nikos Dendias and the naval commanders of both countries.
Frigate F 590 Carlo Bergamini of the FREMM type of the Italian Navy (c) of the Italian Navy
The agreement was concluded as part of the implementation of the memorandum of cooperation and declaration of intent signed on September 29, 2025, which provided for the acquisition by Greece of two FREMM-class frigates from the Italian Navy, with the possibility of Greece acquiring two more such ships in the future. The cost of Greece's purchase of two frigates, together with the five-year technical support period stipulated in the agreement, is 460 million euros, according to Italian media.
Greece acquires the first two Italian-built FREMM frigates, the F 590 Carlo Bergamini (commissioned into the Italian Navy in May 2013) and the F 591 Virginio Fasan (commissioned into the Italian Navy in December 2013). Their transfer to Greece is planned for the first half of 2028 and the first half of 2029, respectively. Both frigates belong to different modifications - Carlo Bergamini is a multipurpose frigate (General Purpose), and Virginio Fasan is made in an anti-submarine version (ASW).
It is reported that the ships will be transferred to Greece without the installed Italian MBDA Teseo Mk-2/A anti-ship and MBDA MILAS anti-submarine missile systems (on Virginio Fasan), and Greece will then independently re-equip them with anti-ship missiles (apparently of the MBDA Exocet MM40 Block 3 type). Also, part of the communication facilities will be replaced on the ships during the transfer and Greek Centaurus UAV radio suppression systems will be installed. The possibility of installing a towed GAS Thales UMS 4249 CAPTAS-4 (normally installed on Virginio Fasan) on the transferred frigate Carlo Bergamini is being considered.
To replace the two FREMM frigates sold to Greece, the Italian navy ordered two new frigates in July 2024, already in an upgraded version of the FREMM EVO type, the construction of which (F 600 Bersargliere and F 601 Aviere) was started by Fincantieri in 2025-2026.
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| Frigate F 591 Virginio Fasan of the FREMM type of the Italian Navy. |
| Source: (c) Italian Navy |
Frigates F 590 Carlo Bergamini and F 591 Virginio Fasan of the FREMM type of the Italian Navy (c) of the Italian Navy
At the signing ceremony, she signed agreements on the acquisition by Greece of two F 590 Carlo Bergamini and F 591 Virginio Fasan frigates of the FREMM type from the Italian fleet. Rome, 09/08/2026 (c) Fincantieri
