On December 18, 2025, in Lorient, Naval Group officially delivered HS Kimon, the first Defense and Intervention Frigate (FDI HN) built for the Hellenic Navy, marking a historic milestone in Greece’s naval modernization program and in long-term Franco-Greek defense cooperation. The handover ceremony took place in the presence of Nikos Dendias, Greek Minister of National Defense, and Catherine Vautrin, French Minister of the Armed Forces and Veterans Affairs, underlining the strategic and political importance of the program for both nations.

The delivery of HS Kimon represents a major achievement for Naval Group, which remains committed to delivering three additional FDI HN frigates to Greece in the coming years. As latest-generation surface combatants designed for high-intensity, multi-domain warfare, the FDI frigates will significantly enhance the Hellenic Navy’s operational capabilities, allowing Greece to rapidly and sustainably strengthen its surface fleet in an increasingly complex and contested maritime environment.

Commenting on the milestone, Pierre Éric Pommellet, Chairman and CEO of Naval Group, stated: “The delivery of the first FDI for the Hellenic Navy, HS Kimon, represents a major milestone in our cooperation with Greece. We are honored to put our expertise at the service of the Hellenic Navy’s sovereignty and naval superiority through the FDI frigates, which offer very high-level capabilities in all areas of combat.”

The delivery to Greece comes just two months after the French Navy received its first FDI, demonstrating the maturity and efficiency of the program. According to current planning, two additional FDI frigates for the Hellenic Navy will be delivered in 2026, while the fourth FDI HN, ordered in November 2024, is scheduled for delivery within three years. This structured and accelerated timeline reflects Naval Group’s optimized construction process and its ability to sustain a production rate of two ships per year.

Beyond shipbuilding, the Hellenic Navy has also awarded Naval Group the initial in-service support (ISS) contract for the FDI fleet. Maintenance, upgrades, and lifecycle support will be carried out through close cooperation between Naval Group, its Greek subsidiary Naval Group Hellas, and local Greek industrial partners, reinforcing national industrial participation and long-term fleet availability.

The FDI is a first-rate, fully digital frigate, designed to operate either independently or as part of a task group. It delivers proven capabilities across the full spectrum of naval warfare, including anti-air warfare, anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface operations, and asymmetric threat response. Its scalable and modular architecture allows it to adapt to evolving threats such as latest-generation submarines, supersonic missiles, cyberattacks, and complex hybrid and asymmetric challenges.

With its compact layout, advanced combat system, and highly integrated design, the FDI is optimized for operations in diverse maritime environments, from confined seas to open oceans, and is fully capable of sustained operations in rough sea conditions. The delivery of HS Kimon therefore marks not only the entry into service of a new combat platform, but also a decisive step in strengthening Greece’s maritime security, deterrence posture, and role as a key stability provider in the Eastern Mediterranean and beyond.

A strategic program at the heart of long-term Franco-Greek cooperation