Greece’s new FDI HN frigates will carry Schiebel’s S-100 Camcopter rotary wing uncrewed aerial systems (UAS), with the first drone being supplied imminently.
As per a Schiebel press statement, the first of the four drones to be supplied will be embarked upon HS Kimon and will be delivered “in spring 2026.”
A second drone will be used for operator training and will be land-based, while two further systems will be embarked upon HS Nearchos, scheduled to be delivered to the Hellenic Navy toward the end of this year, and HS Formion, due in early 2027.
Schiebel’s VTOL drone has a ten-hour endurance, a 100-plus nautical mile range, an 18,000ft operational ceiling, and a 75lb payload capacity. It can be used for ISR missions and can also deploy sonobuoys. Its cameras provide real-time pictures to operators and the drones can fly in GPS-denied environments.
Schiebel said the drones supplied to the Hellenic Navy would feature a Wescam MX-10 EO/IR camera gimbal and an Overwatch Imaging PT-8 Oceanwatch.
It noted: “The S-100 systems will enhance the Hellenic Navy’s frigate fleet operations across a wide range of missions, such as maritime security, search and rescue operations, environmental monitoring, control of the country’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW).”
Schiebel Group chairman Hans Georg Schiebel added: “With its proven maritime performance, endurance and payload capacity, the S-100 will provide commanders with extended situational awareness, further enhancing the operational capabilities of the Hellenic Navy’s surface forces.”
The Greek Kimon-class ships, built by Naval Group, are a more heavily armed variant of the French FDI (Frégate de Défense et d’Intervention) warships.
Greece now plans to exercise an option to buy a fourth FDI HN platform. The Greek parliament gave the green light to acquire the extra warship in October last year; it will be named HS Themistocles.
The frigates are 122m long, are capable of 27 knots, and have a range of up to 5,000 nautical miles. The Greek variants are armed with a mix of anti-ship, anti-air and land-attack missiles, as well as naval guns and anti-submarine torpedoes.
- You can read more about the S-100 on the Schiebel website