Unveiling HS NEARCHOS: The Hellenic Navy’s Next-Gen Defender Arrives!
On September 19th, 2024, the inaugural ceremony for the second FDI frigate Hellenic Ship (HS) Nearchos occurred at the Naval Group shipyard in Lorient.
The ceremonial event was attended by Nikolaos Dendias, Minister of National Defence of the Hellenic Republic, and General Gaël Diaz de Tuesta, Director of the International Direction of the French General Armament Directorate (representing Sébastien Lecornu, the French Minister of the Armed Forces). Furthermore, General Dimitrios Choupis, Chief of the Hellenic National Defence General Staff (HNDGS), Vice Admiral Dimitrios E. Kataras, Chief of Hellenic Navy General Staff (HNGS), along with Major General Ioannis Bouras, General Director of GDDIA, were also present during the ceremony.
The HS Nearchos frigate joined her sister ship HS Kimon on the Scorff river, which is presently undergoing harbor trials before initiating her maiden sea trials. The HS Nearchos will receive its Panoramic Sensors and Intelligence Module (PSIM) a few weeks subsequent to its launching. The three Hellenic Frigates are now at a significant stage of fabrication, as the third unit, HS Formion, whose keel laying of its initial block took place in April, has completed its hull assembly this August. One of her sections, section 8, was manufactured by Salamis Shipyards in Greece. The trio of frigates is scheduled for delivery in 2025 and 2026.
This occasion once again serves to emphasize the achievements of the robust, long-term industrial partnership between France and Greece, marked particularly by the involvement of numerous Greek manufacturers in Naval Group’s supply chain. In this context, HS Nearchos, alongside the other FDI frigates, integrates several components “made in Greece.”
An advanced, formidable, and digital frigate
The FDI for the Hellenic Navy is a 4,500-tonne vessel. Versatile and durable, it will empower the Hellenic Navy to maintain its maritime dominion in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea due to its superior capabilities in various domains of naval warfare: anti-air, anti-submarine, anti-ship, and special forces deployment, with distinctive abilities against asymmetric threats. It also leverages the latest innovations from Thales in radar, sonar, and electronic warfare.
Heavily armed (including MBDA Exocet MM40 B3C anti-surface and Aster anti-missile missiles, RAM systems, MU90 anti-submarine torpedoes, and artillery), HS Nearchos simultaneously accommodates a helicopter and a capacity for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV).
It also benefits from the expertise of Thales, MBDA, and all other partners and subcontractors involved.
Technical specifications:
- Displacement: 4,500 tons
- Length: approximately 122 meters
- Width: 18 meters
- Maximum speed: 27 knots
- Aviation facilities: 10-ton class helicopter, VTOL unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)
Main armaments:
CANTO countermeasures developed by Naval Group
32 Aster missiles developed by MBDA
8 Exocet MM40 B3C missiles developed by MBDA
RAM missiles
MU90 torpedoes developed by Naval Group
76 mm gun
4 torpedo tubes
