The French state-owned shipbuilder Naval Group has launched the second new frigate for Greece.
The FDI frigate “Nearchos” was launched at Naval’s site in Lorient in the presence of Nikolaos Dendias, Minister of Defence of the Hellenic Republic, and General Gaël Diaz de Tuesta of the French Directorate General of Armaments, representing Sébastien Lecornu, French Minister of the Armed Forces.
“Nearchos” is now in the final stages of construction and will join its sister “HS Kimon”, which is currently undergoing trials in the port area before its first sea trials.
A total of three Greek frigates are now at an advanced stage of production, as the third unit, “Formion”, whose first block was laid down in April, completed its hull assembly in August this year. One of its blocks, section eight, was built by Salamis Shipyards in Greece as part of a cross-border cooperation.
Delivery of the series is planned for 2025 and 2026. The French and Greeks see this long-term industrial cooperation as a great success, which is characterised in particular by the integration of numerous Greek manufacturers into the Naval Group‘s supply chain. For example, the “Nearchos”, like the other frigates in the FDI series, has numerous items of equipment “made in Greece”.
The FDI for the Hellenic Navy is a 4,500-ton displacement warship. It is designed to enable the Hellenic Navy to secure its maritime position in the Eastern Mediterranean: with air defence, anti-submarine warfare, anti-ship defence and deployment of special forces with capabilities against asymmetric threats.
Technical data of the frigates:
- Displacement: 4,500 tons
- Length: approx. 122 meters
- Width: 18 meters
- Maximum speed: 27 knots
