According to information published by the Greek City Times website on June 10, 2021, the Greek Ministry of Defense has shortlisted six countries for evaluating proposals for the acquisition of four new frigates for the Hellenic Navy.
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Greek frigate HS Spetsai, F-453, transits the Mediterranean Sea during Phoenix Express. (Picture source U.S. Navy)
The acquisition of new frigates for the Hellenic Navy is a top priority for the Greek government, as well as the upgrade of existing warships. Greece could invest 5 billion euros for the acquisition of four new frigates.
Citing the Greek City Times website, the Greek government has accepted proposals from five countries including the United States with the Multi-Mission Surface Combatant (MMSC) from Lockheed Martin, France with the company Naval Group and its Belharra HN, Netherlands with Damen ship Sigma 11515, the United Kingdom with the type 31 Arrowhead from Babcock, Germany with the company TKMS with MEKO A200NG and Italy with its FREMM built by the company Fincantieri.
Citing Daniel Darling from Forecast International, faced with an increasingly confrontational situation with neighboring Turkey in the Aegean and Mediterranean Seas, Greece is embarking on an upgrade of the Hellenic Armed Forces a decade after the country’s sovereign debt crisis put military modernization on hold. Under the latest capabilities upgrade initiative announced by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on September 12 all three major service branches of the Hellenic Armed Forces will be bolstered via modernization acquisitions.
The Hellenic Navy will be one of the main beneficiaries of this new modernization effort. Tasked with meeting the challenge presented by an increasingly capable and expanding Turkish Navy the Hellenic Navy as launched the program involving the procurement of four new multi-role frigates.
The Hellenic Navy maintains a large number of surface vessels and submarines in its inventory. However, the 10 years of economic recession (2009-2019) that affected the country particularly hard, have also affected the Navy's development plans. The Hellenic Navy relies mainly on frigates as its primary surface heavy boats. The fleet consists of thirteen frigates. The types operated are the Hydra class (Type: Meko-200HN) and the Elli class (Type: Kortenaer). The Elli class frigates HS Elli and HS Limnos were sold to Greece during construction, the rest were bought directly from the Dutch Navy. The Hydra class vessels were constructed in Greece by Hellenic Shipyards Co., except from HS Hydra that was constructed by the German company Blohm and Voss based in Hamburg.
