On October 4th 2023, the launching ceremony of the first Hellenic ship (HS) Kimon took place in the Naval Group shipyard of Lorient. The ceremonial launching took place in the presence of Sébastien Lecornu, French minister of the Armed Forces and his Greek counterpart, Nikolaos Dendias. The Chief Executive of the French Armament General Directorate (DGA) and his Greek counterpart, as well as the Chiefs of the French and Hellenic Navies General Staff were also attending the ceremony. The launching of the FDI frigate Kimon is a major industrial and symbolic milestone in the FDI program for the Hellenic Navy. The contract for the procurement of three frigates, plus one optional, was signed with Grece on 24th March 2022. All three frigates are in production. The first pre-outfitted block of the second unit HS Nearchos has just been transferred into the dry dock for the keel laying, and the first steel-cutting of the third HS Formion frigate occurred on July 12th 2023. The next steps for HS Kimon are the first sea going scheduled for 2024, and the delivery in 2025.
“Greece has honoured Naval Group by choosing the FDI vessels to renew its combat fleet for the Hellenic Navy. This launching is another important step in our strong cooperation with Greece, as it marks the symbolic birth of the HS KIMON frigate for her first contact with the sea. It is also a concrete illustration of Naval Group’s commitment to supporting a robust industrial cooperation with the Hellenic industry, growing stronger every day. Naval Group is proud to be moving forward together with all of its French and Greek partners, on this great FDI adventure.” said Pierre Eric Pommellet, CEO of Naval Group.
This event also highlights the success of the strong and long-term industrial cooperation between France and Greece, as many Greek industrials are fully integrated in Naval Group’s supply chain and were present in Lorient for the ceremony. The HS 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 HS Kimon frigate embarks simultaneously a helicopter and a capacity of aerial vehicle (UAV). She also benefits from the expertise of Thales, MBDA, and all our other partners and subcontractors.
Technical specifications of the HS Kimon:
displacement: 4,500 tons ;
length: approx. 122 meters ;
width: 18 meters ;
maximum speed: 27 knots ;
aviation facilities: 10-ton class helicopter, VTOL unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV).
The main armaments of the HS Kimon are:
32 Aster missiles developed by MBDA ;
8 Exocet MM40 B3C missiles developed by MBDA ;
RAM missiles ;
MU 90 torpedoes developed by Naval Group ;
76 mm gun ;
4 torpedo tubes ;
CANTO counter measures developed by Naval Group.
