Greece has signed a contract with Naval Group to acquire a fourth FDI warship for the Hellenic Navy.
The deal inked with the defence prime on Friday also covers a series of additional capability upgrades across the other three vessels, as per a recent Naval Group press statement. The firm is due to deliver the first of the FDI ships by the end of this year.
The programme, launched in 2022, additionally takes in maintenance of the four Greek vessels. The first-in-class, Kimon, was launched in late 2023 and has been undergoing sea trials; she is expected to be handed over to the Hellenic Navy next month and commissioned into active service in early 2026.
The Frégate de Défense et d’Intervention (Defence and Intervention Frigate) or FDI was conceived as a new class of “first rank” French frigates — other nations would usually classify them as destroyers, but the French Navy doesn’t use the term.
Five FDIs have been ordered for the French Navy; the first-in-class, Amiral Ronarc’h, has been delivered and is currently undergoing post-acceptance sea trials; she is expected to be commissioned next summer.
The FDIs are multipurpose warships with a range of air defence, anti-submarine warfare, anti-ship and asymmetric warfare capabilities. Each ship is 122m long, displaces just under 4,500 tonnes, and is capable of a maximum speed of about 27 knots.
FDIs have a range of about 5,000 nautical miles and are armed with Exocet anti-ship missiles and Aster 15 or 30 and MIstral-Simbad surface-to-air missiles, as well as MU90 torpedoes.
They can embark either NH90 or H160M helicopters as well as a rotary-wing Airbus VSR700 uncrewed aerial system (UAS).
In the Greek FDI programme, the second and third warships, HS Nearchos and HS Formion, have both been launched and are expected to be commissioned in early and mid-2027 respectively. The newly confirmed fourth, HS Themistokles, is expected to enter service in mid-2029.
Chairman and CEO of Naval Group Pierre Eric Pommellet commented: “We are very honoured by Greece’s order for this fourth FDI frigate. With the first three already at an advanced stage of production, this order is a mark of confidence and confirmation of the Hellenic Navy’s satisfaction with these first-rank vessels.
“We will continue to deploy our expertise in the service of the Hellenic Navy’s sovereignty and naval superiority.”
In the French programme, Amiral Louzeau has been launched and is expected to be delivered during 2026 and commissioned the following year; the other three ships — Amiral Castex, Amiral Nomy, and Amiral Cabanier — should enter service between 2029 and 2032.
- You can read more details about the warships on the Naval Group website