Greece and Italy are set to conclude the deal for the acquisition of two Italian Bergamini-class FREMM frigates, with the signing of an Implementing Arrangement that finalizes its legal, financial and technical terms, the Greek Ministry of National Defense announced on Wednesday.
This type of military vessel ranks among the most advanced surface combatants in the Mediterranean and can carry out multiple missions, including anti-submarine warfare, area air defense, and flexible operational deployments.
Final details of the Greek acquisition of Italian frigates
The Implementing Arrangement between the two countries, which activates the program, is to be signed on Tuesday, September 8, in Rome, in the presence of the Greek Minister of National Defense Nikos Dendias, his Italian counterpart Guido Crosetto and the Chiefs of the Navy of the two countries.
A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) and the Declaration of Intent for the acquisition of the Italian FREMM frigates were signed in September 2025 in La Spezia, Italy, after a meeting between the two Ministers, and the acquisition was approved by the Government Council for National Security in May 2026.
The Implementing Arrangement will be signed by the General Directorate of Defense Armaments and Investments (GDAEE) of the Greek Ministry of National Defense and the corresponding Italian Armaments Directorate.
Greece accelerating the modernization of its Navy
The acquitision marks a key step in Athens’ broader plan to reshape the Hellenic Navy and strengthen its surface fleet with a more advanced, layered naval force. Under the new structure, the Italian FREMM frigates will operate alongside the French Belharra frigates and the modernized MEKO 200HN vessels, forming the backbone of Greece’s future naval architecture.
The deal includes two second-hand Italian FREMM Bergamini frigates, with an option for two more vessels under a 2+2 arrangement, while it also assigns upgrade and maintenance work on the FREMM frigates to Greek shipyards.
The Implementing Arrangement to be signed in Rome will determine the value of the two first ships in their current state and the timetable for the transfer and integration of the ships into the Navy, the initial and subsequent support to ensure the operational availability of the units, the domestic industrial participation, with the involvement of Greek shipyards in the maintenance and adaptation of new systems to the ships.
According to the Greek Ministry of National Defense, the Carlo BERGAMINI (F-590) frigate is expected within the first half of 2028 and the Virginio FASAN (F-591) frigate within the first half of 2029.
“The acquisition of the two FREMM frigates, with the possibility of acquiring additional ships in the future, together with the four FDI frigates and the modernization of the MEKO frigates, creates a Navy with high-capability Strike Units, which safeguard the sovereignty and sovereign rights of our country, both in the Aegean Sea and in the Eastern Mediterranean,” the Ministry stressed in its statement.
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