The interview with Alain Guillou, Deputy Managing Director of Naval Group Development, by Alain Establier was carried out at the DEFEA trade fair, which was held in Athens from July 12 to 15, 2021

SDBR News: Why is Naval Group a “Platinum sponsor” of DEFEA 2021 ?

Alain Guillou: As you have seen, the presence of Naval Group at the DEFEA show reflects the ambition that we are putting in the major partnership that we wish to develop with Greece. It is a country where we have been active for more than a decade and Greece is at the heart of strategic issues, particularly because it controls Russia's access route to the high seas, from the Sea of ​​Azov to the Black Sea then to the Sea of ​​Marmara and finally to the Aegean Sea via the Dardanelles Strait. This implies operating ships with first-rate operational capabilities in all areas of response. We consider that the Naval Group FDIs are the most suitable frigates to secure this extremely strategic area. Therefore, our presence at DEFEA is obvious and essential. In 2009, we won a restricted call for tenders for six French FREMMs that were postponed by the financial crisis. We came back in 2018 and 2019 to offer Greece FDI frigates, the negotiation of which had almost been concluded in the summer of 2020, but changes in priorities led the Greek government to postpone this project once again and then to open the competition to other market players.

SDBR News: Do you think you have a chance to win it this time around ?

Alain Guillou: Today we find ourselves facing a lot of competitors in the competition, but we consider that we still have a major role to play. Since 2008, we have had a sales office in Athens which has remained active for all these years despite the various postponements. Therefore, we have an indisputable precedence for this project and have carried out intense and relentless work, both on the operational and industrial aspects of the file, with the sole objective of satisfying the operational requirements of the Greek Navy as well as the expectations of the political authorities on industrial and sovereignty issues, without forgetting, of course, the economic dimension. We presented our best possible offer to help us win the competition.

SDBR News: What are these expectations ?

Alain Guillou: It seems to us that one of the major points for the Greek Navy is the ship, its equipment, and its naval superiority. We also consider that, in this period after the Covid crisis, the local industrial dimension of the project must be very important. We are professionals in the naval defense sector, and we have put all our strengths to build a concrete, complete and coherent industrial project for Greece. There may of course be other considerations which will condition the outcome of this competition and the Greek government will make a sovereign choice, with its own criteria, within the framework of the dialogue procedure initiated. Competitors have strengths and we have ours: we benefit from the support of the French State through the French Navy and also of the DGA in support of the acquisition procedure.

SDBR News: What are your strengths ?

Alain Guillou: If the Greek Navy wants ships capable of asserting their sovereignty in the region, it is indisputable that Naval Group frigates are the best suited. If the Greek government wants real industrial support to revitalize the local shipbuilding industry, then again, I think we are in the best position. We have a broad and demonstrated experience of technology transfers, with a presence in several countries of the world, in the field and in regular contact with the industrialists of the countries to help them develop in the naval field, to create activity and jobs and to innovate to prepare future projects. France is also closer to Greece than many other countries, with a constant desire over time for support and cooperation.

SDBR News: Can you estimate the jobs to be created in Greece ?

Alain Guillou: Our project aims to create several thousand jobs in Greece as part of a long-term strategy, which can be extended to the construction of other ships (civil or military) and based on 40 years of maintenance of FDI frigates. We can make our industries work together. We have identified many Greek industrial partners who can already integrate our global supply chain and we encourage the manufacturers of our own French "supply chain" to join forces with Greek partners for our various projects. More than 70 Greek companies have already been audited and those who will join our global supply chain will be consulted in each of our calls for tenders, both for France and for export. And many trade consultations are already underway: actions are better than promises!

SDBR News: What about Europe in all of this ?

Alain Guillou: Operationally, the Greek Navy exercises regularly with the French Navy because Greece is located in an essential area for European maritime sovereignty. From the financial point of view, Greece benefits from the European recovery plan and has set up a national plan, "Greece 2.0" ... This shared vision of a European policy of sovereignty in the naval field should quite naturally lead to prioritize European partners exclusively for this call for tenders. Europe is in fact opening a field of opportunities large enough to jointly develop a strong, sovereign, and sustainable shipbuilding industry.

SDBR News: Yes, but concretely…?

Alain Guillou: Very concretely, Naval Group has made a commitment alongside Greek companies to successfully participate in European projects such as the USSPs project for maritime surveillance with the company ETME or the Miricle project in the field of mine warfare with the company Terra Spatium. The R&D Partnership Days, which were held recently in Athens and Heraklion, made it possible to identify many other avenues of cooperation in order to jointly create - French and Greek manufacturers - the naval innovation of tomorrow. Our approach and our commitment are long-term.

SDBR News: Is the speed of execution of your offer a differentiating factor ?

Alain Guillou: Absolutely! The speed of execution is a major parameter because the world is more and more uncertain; threats are immediate and very real. However, the time taken to make superior ships available to Greece is decisive. It is not possible to wait more than 3 or 4 years to deal with such a present and real threat: you have to respond as quickly as possible. The first FDI Hellenic Navy (HN) will be delivered in March 2025, which is less than 4 years. This is a latest generation boat, extremely modern compared to anything in the world today. The FDI HN is a ship with a real deterrent capacity in the Aegean Sea. Equipped with 32 Aster missiles or a combination of Aster 30 and MICA NG missiles, 21 RAMs, 8 Exocet MM 40 B 3, MU90 light torpedoes and a 76 mm gun, the FDI HN offers unrivalled capabilities of air or sea space control, and autonomy of action, in support of political and military objectives. The FDI HN would be a real asset of power and sovereignty for Greece in the Aegean Sea.

SDBR News: Will this be the optimum at sea?

Alain Guillou: Yes, because she is a completely new generation vessel with, for example, unrivalled performance, particularly in terms of acoustic discretion. In this maritime zone, anti-submarine capability is essential to deter potential aggressors and, of course, the possibility of equipping the FDI HN with naval cruise missiles is a major advantage. And, despite this exceptional military power, the FDI HN remains an extremely compact ship compared to other frigates of the same rank, which makes it even better suited for the Hellenic maritime spaces specific configuration, not to mention the high level of automation of the systems. Finally, the FDI has commando lift and launch capabilities for the fight against terrorism and asymmetric threats.

SDBR News: Regarding anti-submarine warfare, what technology do you offer to the Greek Navy?

Alain Guillou: We offer them the systems which have proven their worth on the French FREMMs and which, in 2020, won the "Hook'em Award" at the FREMM Bretagne and Auvergne. Indeed, each year, the 6th American Fleet operating in the Mediterranean rewards the most efficient units in anti-submarine warfare. In 2020, these two French frigates were honored to be awarded this prize. The effectiveness of submarine warfare obviously depends on the performance of the sonar but also on the acoustic discretion characteristics of the ship, which are the result of real know-how in naval architecture. And who better than a submarine manufacturer like Naval Group to master this know-how? Our job is, of course, to make submarines and surface ships, but we mainly work very closely with the French National Navy, which is our differentiator and our strength: we make our boats with sailors for sailors!

SDBR News: Would the FDI HN for Greece allow better interoperability with the French Navy?

Alain Guillou: Sharing the same Combat Management System (the CMS SETIS) with different Marines in the region - the French Navy, of course, but also the Egyptian Navy - makes it possible to go much further in operational cooperation and exchange of experiences or data. Having the same ship as the French Navy also allows operational exchanges and cross training for crews, not to mention unique capacities of evolution towards naval watches and collaborative engagements allowing to combine sensors and weapons of multiple ships to provide a comprehensive response to an attack. Another aspect touches the political support given by France to Greece which has never been lacking in recent years in the field of defense.

SDBR News: A wish on this day July 14, 2021, in Athens ?

Alain Guillou: Naval Group offers a vision and long-term partnerships. For us, it is not only a question of selling equipment or services: we offer solutions of naval sovereignty in the service of a vision of Greek maritime security, that is to say a tool of naval superiority. - the FDI HN - the ability to maintain it autonomously over the long term and the opportunity to develop a leading industrial and technological base through a comprehensive technology transfer program.

Presenting ourselves as a “France team”, with MBDA as missile manufacturer and Thales as equipment supplier, our offer is comprehensive and fully integrated with new FDI HN frigates; the first of which will be available from March 2025, two anti-aircraft and anti-submarine frigates as a gap filler as well as a modernization project for the 4 MEKO frigates. My most ardent wish is of course that the offer of our "France team" will be chosen by the Greek authorities.

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Photos credits: Naval Group