Naval Group submits a new offer for the modernisation of the Hellenic surface fleet

Naval Group submitted as part of the French Team with MBDA and Thales a new offer for the modernisation of the surface fleet of the Hellenic Navy. The French Team’s offer is a comprehensive and robust package designed to ensure Greece has the best capabilities in the shortest timeframe with optimised costs and includes:

• 4 FDI HN - the most modern frigate – 3 built in Greece and the 1st in service by 2025 along with a Gap filler solution of 2 frigates available in early 2022,

• the modernisation of the MEKO frigates in Greece,

• an ambitious Hellenic Industry Participation (HIP)

Beyond reinforcing the strong ties between France and Greece, the French offer addresses all the current and future needs of the Hellenic Navy with a comprehensive package based on the FDI HN, the best frigate of her category but also the first modern one already available.

With this global package of modern frigates equipped with the most advanced Sea Fire radar and missiles systems respectively provided by Thales and MBDA, the solution for the MEKO modernisation and the Gap Filler, the French Team will ensure that HN capabilities are enhanced to meet immediate and future needs while creating and sustaining jobs and economic benefits for the country over decades to come.

The FDI HN, the best response to the needs of the Hellenic Navy

The FDI HN is the only frigate offered to the Hellenic Navy capable of protecting efficiently high value units or area at sea, shore facilities, cities and Greek islands.

The FDI HN will be a power and sovereignty asset for Greece. Fitted with up to 32 ASTER missiles or with a combination of ASTER and MICA NG missiles, 21 RAM, 8 Exocet MM 40 B 3, MU 90 lightweight torpedoes and 76 mm gun, she offers unrivalled capabilities for the permanent control of air and sea space and autonomy of action, in support of the political and military objectives set. Like all Naval Group frigates, the FDI HN will be fully interoperable with NATO and EU Navies’ fleets. She will be capable of assuming all multimission roles within any kind of allied fleet and within the HN fleet.

The FDI HN is a compendium of the best technologies from the European defence industries Thales, MBDA and Naval Group. The Aster missiles on-board can be engaged very quickly in all directions and ensure an unmatched hit-to-kill capability, making it possible to defeat saturating attacks.

The FDI frigate has been designed to be equipped as growth potential with Naval Cruise Missiles, a Deep Strike capability unique in the market proposed by Naval Group and able to deal with the latest threats. The physical and digital infrastructures of the FDI guarantee an evolutionary potential that will ensure that the Hellenic Navy will be able to deal with emerging and future threats over the life of the ship (UAVs, Cyber, anti-ship ballistic missiles, hypersonic missiles, stealth threats underwater or above water, etc.).

The first FDI HN will be delivered in 2025 meaning that the needs of the HN will be addressed very quickly and Naval Group offers a risk-free solution for the construction of the 3 other FDI HN in Greece, by Greek shipyards, on time, and with the same quality and performances as the first of class.

Naval Group has a long track record of successful transfers of technology across the world. The frigates will be co-produced in Greece, with significant involvement of the French team. Construction of the 1st frigate in France will ensure operation by Greece in the shortest timeframe and secure the transfer of technology to allow construction of 3 frigates in Greece. This will ensure long-term autonomy for HN and significant economic benefits for the Hellenic naval and defence industries and hundreds of long-term jobs in Greece.

A gap filler solution available in less than a year along with the FDI HN frigates proposal

In addition, the French offer includes a Gap filler solution, also available in the shortest timeframe since the 2 Anti-air warfare (AAW) and Anti-submarine Warfare (ASW) frigates will be delivered to Greece in 2022 within the frame of the proposal.

The frigates are still in service with the French Navy for both national and international missions, proving they are fully interoperable with any other NATO ship and offers capabilities needed to address current threats.

They will be a great contribution to the HN fleet for the short period of time before the delivery of the FDI HN in 2025.

The modernisation of the MEKO frigates in Greece

To meet Greece's requirements, we have formed a partnership that offers a risk-free solution for the upgrade of the MEKO.

By combining their specific knowledge and expertise, Thales and Naval Group are ideally placed to offer an optimal cost-performance compromise, both for the mid-life upgrade program itself and to guarantee the operational availability of the ships.

The MEKO mid-life refit program is planned to be carried out in Greece. In this respect, Thales can count on the presence of Thales Hellas S.A. and on the relations already established between Thales and Naval Group with existing industrial partners.

An ambitious Hellenic Industry Participation plan

As part of the development of Greece’s sovereignty, the involvement of the Hellenic industry will enhance the country’s excellence in the naval domain and create long term economic benefits and jobs as well as ensuring the warships will be maintained in autonomy in Greece by the Greek industry.

Over the past few months, Naval Group has deployed a permanent task force of experts in Greece to boost the survey of the Hellenic industry. Their mission is very clear: identifiy all local companies willing to participate in the local construction of the FDI HN frigates, the modernisation of the Meko 200HN, their future in-service support but also beyond the Greek frigates program to other international naval programs with Naval Group.

This Hellenic Industry Participation plan will develop new capacities in the Greek industry, sustaining thousands of highly qualified jobs and generating long-term economic spin-offs in Greece.

FDI HN “made in Greece, by the Hellenic Industry, for the Hellenic Navy”

Over the last decades, Naval Group has developped a robust expertise and conducted successful programs with extensive tranfers of production of surface ships or submarines within its international partners’ facilities, such as in Singapore, India, Brasil or Egypt. Based on this unmatched and risk free Transfer of Technology approach, Naval Group offers a secure co-production of three (3) FDI HN frigates in Greece, by a major Greek shipyard and with a large involvement of the Hellenic Industrial ecosystem.

Naval Group’s Hellenic Industrial Participation plan is shaped to provide “made in Greece” warships with same quality and performances as the FDI frigates under construction in France for the French Navy, perfectly adapted to the Hellenic Navy’s operational needs and fully interoperable with French and NATO navies.

This Hellenic Industry Participation plan will contribute to the revitalisation of a strong Greek defence shipbuilding industry, key for the the country’s industrial and operational autonomy in the naval domain by:

• Transfering in Greece all the necessary technology and knowledge to ensure 3 FDI HN frigates are built in Greece, on time, and with the same quality and performances as the first of class to be built in France and delivered in 2025.

• Maximizing the participation of the Greek Industry for the In-Service Support of the FDI HN frigates over the next 40 years.

• Increasing the country’s autonomy and self-reliance for construction and service support of warships through transfers of technology and knowledge to Greek partners.

• Participating to the development of a profitable and innovative Greek naval defence ecosystem that will generate long-term highly qualified jobs for Greek citizens, not only shipyards but also in electronics, IT, etc and benefit for the country’s economy.

Building long-term partnerships with the Hellenic Industry

As a maritime country with a strong shipbuilding tradition, Greece has both shipyards and a large number of defence companies. Naval Group’s experts have been working in coordination with the two main defense industry associations, SEKPY and HASDIG, but also with the maritime industry association HEMEXPO, and is receiving or visiting all Major, Small and Medium-sized Hellenic companies identified or interested in contributing to the FDI HN program in various domains of activities such as platform equipment, platform construction and integration, combat system equipment and integration, engineering, tests and trials management, support services, R&D projects…

More than 70 companies based in Athens and Thessaloniki areas have been identified among which 10 companies are already pre-qualified and 40 have been met and/or visited for a preliminary evaluation of their industrial capabilities. The process will continue within the next weeks as Naval Group is fully committed to achieve the most extensive Hellenic industry participation.

Beyond the participation to the FDI HN and MEKO 200HN programs, all qualified Greek companies will integrate the French industrial team’s supply chains and have the possibility to participate to other future international competitions, thus increasing their capabilities as well as their potential economic benefit and visibility on the worldwide naval market.

Naval Group’s Hellenic Industrial Participation plan will contribute to the construction of the FDI HN but also to the creation of a robust naval industrial ecosystem able to participate in the future to other national and international complex projects, directly or in partnership with Naval Group, sustaining thousands of highly qualified jobs and generating long-term economic spin-offs in Greece for decades to come.

Making Greece a centre for naval innovation

Naval Group also expresses a strong interest in developing collaborative R&D projects with Hellenic companies, universities and research institute in cutting edge technologies such as additive manufacturing, predictive maintenance, drones or naval mission systems. Naval Group aims at developing a network of technological and research projects so as to build the Hellenic future naval warfare capabilities.

Naval Group is already working on cyber security applied to the naval and maritime domains with Greek partners in the frame of different European programs such as CYBERMAR as well as the PESCO Pandora and H2020 projects.

Finally, France and Greece share a common need for maritime surveillance. Naval Group proposes to create, together with Greek partners, an industrial and commercial activity that would address the European market from Greece. Naval Group has begun discussions with Hellenic companies in order to position itself on European research programs and to carry out joint projects.

https://www.naval-group.com https://www.mbda-systems.com

Photos credits: Naval Group, MBDA systems