Just as discussions were beginning to increase about the situation that was being written about the future of the Navy with the three "Kimon" class frigates, known as Bellara to the Greek public, the modernization of some of the four MEKO frigates and the inclusion of the at least controversial LCS frigates of the American donation, Nikos Dendias made the return by reassuring everyone with the announcement of the joint construction with the US of four Constellation class frigates.
"But we are not stopping there, we are studying the next steps for the Greek Armed Forces. And I want to refer in particular to the Greek Navy. We are also studying the intermediate solution of the LCS that are offered to us free of charge by the United States of America, but beyond that I want to tell you, for the first time, that we are discussing with the United States of America the design, the joint design and the co-production of the new generation Constellation frigates.
Already, on 16 January 2024, a letter from the U.S. Navy was received from the U.S. Navy Chief of Staff, in principle accepting the interest of all of us in the design and co-production of up to 7 new Constellation-class frigates in Greek shipyards.
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So, on the basis of this proposal, Greece, if there is an agreement, could participate in this program right from the beginning, that is, from the planning stage, according to the needs of the Greek Navy, and this could be a huge leap for both the Greek Fleet and the Greek shipbuilding industry.
And to act as a beacon that could prove the capabilities of Greece, production of platforms and systems in the 21st century" specifically said the Greek Minister of National Defense Nikos Dendias after the meeting he had with his Cypriot counterpart.
Fortunately one could say as the US donation of 4 LCS frigates had only created skepticism as it is a ship that its sole user, the US Navy, is withdrawing them due to massive defects that it deemed beyond repair.
A senior Navy source appeared to be at least skeptical about how he will be able to integrate these ships into the fleet, as a lot of work is needed for them to be able to survive rudimentarily in an environment such as the Aegean during the period of war engagement. Of course, there is no thought of operating the specific ships in the open sea of the Eastern Mediterranean in the context of assistance to Cyprus.
Although a now-retired Navy officer who received enormous pressure in the recent past to integrate these ships into the fleet speaking to the Pentateuch pointed out that he has confidence in the current leadership of the Navy, in any case we are talking about ships that have many issues and if ultimately if our fleet receives them, it will be, as the minister said, relieving many it is true, only as an interim solution.
So, if all goes well and there are no setbacks, the first one will be ordered in 2025 and based on the order that exists, the Navy will receive the first Constellation around 2028. Then again under ideal conditions we will be talking about a ship in time. So in 2030, which is also the vision of the Ministry of National Defense, there will be 3 Constellation frigates, 3 "Kimon" class FDI frigates, 3 modernized MEKO frigates and 3 or 4 LCS frigates.The perspective and goal is that somewhere in the mid-2030s we will have a fleet with 3 "Kimon" class FDIs, 7 Constellation frigates, 3 MEKO frigates and probably two or three LCS (if they have lasted). In other words, we are going for the middle of the next decade with the prospect of a fleet with thirteen battle-worthy bows in the water. At the same time, Turkey will have the 8 Istanbul-class frigates, the 4 MEKO-class frigates that they are modernizing, and they will probably have started building the destroyer that they have been planning for years. Of course we repeat it, if everything goes well... Your conclusions.
