France and Greece Launch ‘Kimon’ Frigate for the Hellenic Navy

The launching ceremony of the first frigate for Greece named “Kimon” took place in the Naval Group shipyard of Lorient, France on Wednesday.

The ceremonial launching took place in the presence of Sébastien Lecornu, French minister of the Armed Forces and his Greek counterpart, Nikos Dendias.

The Kimon frigate, together with the “Nearchos” and “Formionas” frigates, “will spearhead the Greek Navy”, Dendias said.

The frigates bear the names of Kimon (Κίμων), an admiral in Alexander the Great‘s army who gained fame for his valor in the naval Battle of Salamis in 480 BC, Nearchos (Νέαρχος), an admiral in the Athenian army before and during the Peloponnesian War, and Phormionas (Φορμίων), an admiral and commander of Athens.

The Kimon frigate is expected in Greece in 2025

Kimon is expected to sail in Greek waters in 2025.

These three frigates Dendias added, “will function as factors of stability and peace, yet also as a projection of power in the Aegean, in the Eastern Mediterranean, and in our broader region and beyond.”

The contract for the procurement of three frigates, plus one optional, was signed with Greece on 24 March 2022. All three frigates are in production. The first pre-outfitted block of the second unit Nearchos has just been transferred into the dry dock for the keel laying, and the first steel-cutting of the third HS Formionas frigate occurred on July 12th 2023.

Referring to the Greece-France strategic defense agreement, Dendias noted that “we now see yet another result of this agreement, which we signed together” with former Defense Minister Nikos Panagiotopoulos.

In his statement, Dendias also referred to the Greek-France partnership and the two countries’ long-standing relations, “based on solidarity – and if required – on mutual contribution to deal with any attack against the territorial integrity of the two countries, always on the basis of International Law.”

The two countries’ relations were also mentioned by Lecornu, who pointed out that if there is one European partner of France with common views on a series of issues then that is definitely Greece, before adding that this is evident first and foremost in the two countries’ defense collaboration.

Greece’s Mitsotakis: Kimon frigate “the most modern vessel”

In a post on Facebook, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis welcomed the ceremonial launch of the Belharra class ‘Kimon’ frigate in France on Wednesday.

Specifically, he wrote that “30 months ago I had pledged that the country would acquire the most modern vessels, the most efficient fighters – the most appropriate equipment overall.

“This is now becoming a reality with the new frigates and corvettes, the Romeo helicopters, the Rafale and the F16 Viper fighter jets, as with armored vehicles and new generation ammunition.”

The acquisition of Kimon frigate is a result of the deal that Greek officials and French manufacturers Naval Group, MBDA, and Thales reached in March 2022.

The Kimon frigate is a 4,500-ton class high sea warship. Multipurpose and resilient, she features high level capabilities in all naval combat domains: anti-ship, anti-air, antisubmarine and special forces projection, with unique capabilities against asymmetric threats. She benefits from Thales’ latest innovations in radar, sonar and electronic warfare.

Strongly armed (MBDA Exocet MM40 B3C anti-surface missiles and Aster anti-air missiles, RAM systems, MU90 antisubmarine torpedoes, artillery), the Kimon frigate embarks simultaneously a helicopter and a capacity of aerial vehicle (UAV).