Greece to take delivery of second FDI frigate Nearchos in Lorient on 30 October

The ceremony in Lorient

Greece's second FDI HN (Belharra) frigate, Nearchos, is set to be formally inducted into the Hellenic Navy on Friday, 30 October 2026. The vessel is to be handed over by Naval Group, and the Greek flag will be raised aboard at its shipyard in Lorient, France, at 13:30 local time, which is 14:30 in Greece. Defence Minister Nikos Dendias is travelling to France for the event, which will take place in the presence of the armed forces leadership. Under the planned ritual, sailors and officers will board one after another, with the commanding officer boarding last, and the raising of the flag will mark the start of the ship's new chapter. The Greek crew then takes over responsibility for bringing the frigate from the French yard toward the front line of the navy. The crew has spent a long period preparing, training on the systems and working alongside French builders, with each specialty assigned to posts from the bridge and operations centre to the engine room and weapon control stations.

Armament and configuration

After the handover, Nearchos will sail first to Brest to take on its weapons before heading for Greek waters. The loadout includes Aster 30 air-defence missiles, Exocet anti-ship missiles, RAM close-in defence missiles, 76mm gun ammunition and torpedoes. The frigate is delivered in Standard 2 configuration with 32 active Sylver A50 vertical launch cells, while the first Greek frigate, Kimon, has 16 cells activated. That gives Nearchos room to carry more Aster 30 missiles, the main weapon against aircraft and missile threats, so it can protect nearby units in the same sea area as well as itself. The RAM system is fully activated and linked to the SETIS combat management system, and the ship also carries extra decoy launchers against incoming missiles.

Nearchos (Standard 2)32

Kimon (activated)16

Nearchos (Standard 2)

32 cells

Kimon (activated)

16 cells

Data from the article text

Talks in France first

Dendias is to meet his French counterpart, Catherine Vautrin, at 12:30 local time, ahead of the flag-raising. Their talks will cover bilateral defence cooperation, regional and European security, and ways to deepen the strategic relationship between Greece and France. The two ministers will then make joint statements to the press. According to the defence ministry, the emphasis will fall on implementing agreements already in place, on cooperation in the defence industry, and on coordinating the two sides on current security challenges.

Fleet renewal after Kimon

Nearchos arrives ten months after Kimon, the first Greek Belharra, was delivered in December 2025. Two more frigates remain in the delivery programme, and the navy is gradually renewing its surface units, many of which have served for decades. The Kimon class, made up of Kimon, Nearchos, Formion and Themistoklis, adds area air defence to the fleet along with a range of advanced systems. Kimon is expected to be upgraded in 2027 during a planned period of inactivity. Nearchos is the second of four FDI frigates for the Hellenic Navy, after Kimon, with Formion and Themistoklis still to follow.