Greece receives ‘Kimon’, navy’s first FDI frigate

The Hellenic Navy ship "Kimon", the first FDI HN "Belharra" class frigate - out of a total of four that will join the Greek Navy in the coming years - will sail into the Saronic Gulf on Thursday, just before noon, bound for the Salamis naval base.

The arrival of "Kimon" marks the entry of the Hellenic Navy into a new era.
The frigate has state-of-the-art digital air defence systems - such as Sea Fire radars - while it stands out for its anti-submarine capabilities, CE Report quotes ANA-MPA.

Among the systems carried by "Kimon", those that stand out include the Aster-30 anti-aircraft missiles for the A50 launchers mounted on the bow, the Exocet MM40 Block 3C surface-to-surface missiles, the MU90 torpedoes for anti-submarine warfare operations, the RAM missiles, the 76 mm Oto Melara cannon and the two 20 mm Lionfish remote-controlled machine guns.

Moreover, as both National Defence Minister Nikos Dendias and the chief of the Hellenic Navy General Staff, Vice Admiral Dimitrios - Eleftherios Kataras, have repeatedly pointed out, the "Kimon" is a ship capable of providing strategic deterrence and crucially upgrading the power of the Greek fleet in the Aegean and the Eastern Mediterranean.

On December 18, at the shipyards of the manufacturing company in the city of Lorient, France, the naming ceremony and raising of the Greek flag on the frigate "Kimon" took place, with Dendias attending.

Since then, the "Kimon" and its crew of 128 people set sail, initially to the city of Brest, where the vessel received its armaments and the first complete coupling of the sensors, the combat system and the weapon systems in real conditions was implemented.

Subsequently, the frigate's journey to Greece began, while after its arrival at the Salamis naval base, the internal process of its integration into the fleet will begin.
The process includes certifications, tests, training in national procedures, as well as gradual assumption of roles.

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, President of the Hellenic Republic Constantine Tassoulas and National Defence Minister Nikos Dendias will attend the onboard welcoming ceremony of the F/G KIMON, the first Greek FDI HN "Belharra".