Expression of interest in corvettes, frigates
With the government-set deadline on allocating the supplementary budget of about 2 billion euros for strengthening the Hellenic Navy with corvettes or frigates approaching, expressions of interest from various candidates have increased.
Last week a delegation from Britain’s Babcock International was in Athens for talks with the General Directorate of Defense Equipment and Investments (GDAEE) and the Hellenic Navy.
According to well-informed sources, the British proposal includes financing guarantees for the amount needed to build new Arrowhead 140 frigates, upgrade the Hellenic Navy’s four MEKOs and modernize the shipbuilding facilities that will be used (Skaramagas, Elefsina or Salamis port).
The Americans and the consortium TKMS (Germany) and Thales (Netherlands) are also strong candidates for the MEKO upgrades. Corvettes are also being proposed by France, the Netherlands, Italy and the United States, while the German and Israeli ones are also working on the Sa’ar 6 used by the Israeli Navy.
