Greece announces plans for joint production of Constellation-class fri…

The Constellation-class frigate design is derived from the Italian Navy's Bergamini-class FREMM frigates. (US Navy)

Greek Minister of National Defence Nikos Dendias has announced that the country is interested in the joint production of a modified version of the Constellation-class frigates being built for the US Navy (USN). Dendias' comments were made following a meeting with the defence minister of the Republic of Cyprus on 29 January.

“On 16 January we received a letter from the US Navy accepting in principle our interest in the co-design and co-production of up to seven new Constellation-class frigates in Greek shipyards,” Dendias said. If an agreement could be reached, Dendias added, Greece would be able to participate in the programme from the beginning and could accordingly contribute to designing and customising the ships according to the needs of the Hellenic Navy.

The Constellation-class frigate design is derived from the Italian Navy's Bergamini-class FREMM (Frégate Européenne Multi-Mission) frigates. Four ships are being built for the USN at Fincantieri Marinette Marine, with total procurement of up to 16 further units planned.

The vessels have a length of 151 m and a full load displacement of 7,400 tonnes. Propulsion is provided by a combined diesel and gas turbine configuration, while the armament fit is to include a 32-cell vertical launching system (VLS) for surface-to-air missiles, 16 surface-to-surface missiles, as well as anti-submarine rockets and torpedoes.

The latest announcement comes just days after the Greek Prime Minister's Office released a letter received from the US State Department, which, among other defence-related transfers, contained provisions for the transfer of four ex-USN littoral combat ships (LCSs) to Greece as part of Excess Defense Articles (EDA) assistance.