The official launching ceremony of the third Greek FDI frigate, F-603 Phormion, took place in Naval Group’s shipyard in Lorient, France on Wednesday, as Greece signaled its intention to buy a fourth frigate for the Hellenic Navy.
All three FDI frigates for the Hellenic Navy are now afloat on the Scorff River, marking an important milestone in the program. The three Hellenic frigates are now at an advanced stage of production, with HS Kimon undergoing sea trials and HS Nearchos transferred to the right bank for outfitting activities before harbor trials after the summer. The three frigates will be delivered in 2025 and 2026.
For the first time, all three Greek FDI frigates, F-601 Kimon, F-602 Nearchos, and F-603 Phormion, were showcased together, moored side by side along the banks of the Scorff River.
Defense Minister Nikos Dendias announced that Greece will sign contracts for the acquisition of a fourth FDI Belharra-class frigate within 2025, with negotiations nearing completion.
According to reports, the upcoming contract will be supplementary to the original order, with Greece exercising its option to acquire a fourth vessel at a cost of under €1 billion.
Dendias also revealed that Greece has secured industrial returns equal to 25% of the frigate’s value.
This means that one-quarter of the expenditure will be reinvested into Greek industry, either through other programs run by the manufacturing company or through follow-on support services for the Greek frigates.
Minister Dendias toured the lead ship of the class, FDI Kimon. He was welcomed aboard on the helipad by members of the crew and received a guided tour from the vessel’s commanding officer.
The frigate “serves as a reconfirmation of Greece’s commitment to the deterrence of high-handedness, and to the safeguarding of our sovereignty,” the defense minister said, adding, “the Hellenic Navy is at the front line of defense of the sovereignty and sovereign rights of Greece and Europe in the Eastern Mediterranean.”
Dendias also referred to the Greek-French strategic alliance implemented through the signing of the Greece-France mutual defense assistance agreement signed by him on behalf of the first term of the Mitsotakis government in 2021 with then foreign minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, whom he thanked for being present on Wednesday. The landmark agreement, he underlined, “is a guarantee of stability in the region.”
The frigates bear the names of Kimon (Greek: Κίμων), an admiral in Alexander the Great‘s army who gained fame for his valor in the naval Battle of Salamis in 480 BC, Nearchos (Greek: Νέαρχος), an admiral in the Athenian army before and during the Peloponnesian War, and Phormion (Greek: Φορμίων), an admiral and commander of Athens.
