On April 14, 2025, the official visit of French Minister of the Armed Forces Sébastien Lecornu to Athens reaffirmed the strength of the strategic partnership between Greece and France, particularly in the naval domain. During his meeting with Greek Minister of National Defence Nikos Dendias, discussions focused on ongoing deliveries of French defense systems, including Belharra-class frigates, Rafale fighter jets, NH90 helicopters, and Exocet missiles. The Greek side also expressed its intention to finalize the acquisition of a fourth frigate. Greece signed a contract with Naval Group in March 2022 for three frigates, and negotiations for a fourth unit—expected to be named HS Themistocles—are nearing completion. This addition would significantly enhance Greece’s naval capabilities in the Eastern Mediterranean amid ongoing regional tensions, notably in the Aegean and the Levant.
Originally developed in response to priorities outlined in France’s 2013 Defense White Paper, the Belharra-class frigate—known in Greek service as the Kimon-class FDI HN—is a new-generation surface combatant designed for high-intensity operations. Measuring 122 meters in length with a displacement of 4,500 tons, the frigates are equipped with a CODAD propulsion system that enables a top speed of 27 knots and a range of 5,000 nautical miles. The Greek variant is armed with 32 Sylver A50 vertical launch system (VLS) cells for Aster 30 surface-to-air missiles, a 21-cell RAM Block 2B launcher, MM40 Block 3C Exocet anti-ship missiles, MU90 torpedoes, a 76mm main gun, and CANTO anti-torpedo countermeasures.
Each vessel includes a flight deck and hangar designed to accommodate either an MH-60R Seahawk helicopter or a Schiebel Camcopter S-100 UAV. On the sensor side, they are equipped with the Sea Fire fixed-panel AESA radar, Kingklip hull sonar, CAPTAS-4 towed array sonar, and the PSIM (Panoramic Sensors and Intelligence Module), which has already been installed on the first unit.