TSAMTO, June 15. According to information published on the Greek City Times website on June 10, the Greek Defense Ministry has shortlisted six applicants for the supply of four new frigates for the country's Navy.
The acquisition of new frigates, as well as the modernization of the Greek Navy's armed warships, is one of the priority projects of the Greek Government. The budget for the purchase of new frigates is estimated at 5 billion. euro.
According to the resource, the Greek government received proposals from six countries, including the United States with a multi-purpose surface warship (MMSC) developed by Lockheed Martin, France (Naval Group with the frigate "Belharra HN"), the Netherlands (Damen with the frigate Sigma-11515), the United Kingdom (Babcock with the frigate" Type-31"), Germany (TKMS with the frigate MEKO A200NG) and Italy (Fincantieri with the frigate FREMM).
Taking into account the aggravation of relations with neighboring Turkey in the Aegean and Mediterranean Seas, Greece has begun to modernize the armed forces, which was suspended due to the difficult financial and economic situation. Under the latest initiative announced by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on September 12, 2020, all three branches of the Greek Armed Forces will be strengthened through the acquisition of new weapons. The Greek navy will be one of the main beneficiaries of the modernization program.
Currently, the Greek Navy has 13 frigates, including ships of the Hydra class (Meko-200HN) and Elli (Kortenaer). The Hydra-class ships were built in Greece by Hellenic Shipyards Co., with the exception of the lead frigate of the series, built by the German company Blohm und Voss in Hamburg. The Elli – class frigates, Elli and Limnos, were sold to Greece as new ones, and 7 more were sold from the Dutch Navy.
