Frigates: USA out of the «final» - France, Netherlands at the top of the list

We have been writing for some time that in the Greek Pentagon everyone was anxiously awaiting the final proposal of the Americans for the new frigates they are proposing for our Navy. We even wrote that Washington is holding an ace up its sleeve, that it will submit - as Jeffrey Pyatt stressed - a proposal that we could not refuse.

We were also waiting to hear that the Americans were giving, for example, the MMSC frigates with powerful armament, at an advantageous price, and at the same time they would also give intermediate solution ships that would ‘beat« even the best European proposals. We also wrote that the US might even give us the Arleigh Burke destroyers, which are the main strike units of the US fleet.

What happened in the end? The American proposal proved to be, without exaggeration, disappointing. We waited almost two months for the Americans to send an LOA to the LOR that Athens had sent and finally the American ambassador, Jeffrey Pyatt, came to give us exactly the same proposal, maybe even worse.

What do we mean? The Americans have given the Minister of Defense Mr. Nikos Panagiotopoulos a proposal concerning the MMSC frigates, while for an interim solution they propose the decommissioned Perry frigates and the Island landing craft.

The Americans reserve for a better proposal in the response to the Greek Letter of Request, but which - as the Americans said - will arrive in Athens... in September! Where does Washington's certainty that we will not have selected frigates by September come from? Surely such a development would put endangering the defence of the country, given the geopolitical instability in the region. Besides, the events of 2020, with the Turks taking their fleet out to the Aegean and the Eastern Mediterranean, do not allow further inaction. The Navy needs frigates and it needs them now. No «type» frigates for coastal defence, but powerful frigates that will control both the Aegean and the Eastern Mediterranean, with powerful weaponry and state-of-the-art systems.

We also stress that even from an economic point of view, the American proposal is not at all advantageous. In contrast, MMSC frigates are very expensive and do not offer a minimum of what the European ones do.

Even Defence Ministry sources express surprise at the US proposal, trying to decipher the Americans‘ intentions. In any case, what is certain is that the US proposal does not satisfy the Navy and has been placed at the bottom of the Navy's preferences.

The French have it all - Gamechanger Belh@rra with Scalp Naval

Some time ago, when the French Naval Group had submitted its proposal for the powerful FDI Belh@rra frigates, giving as an interim solution the anti-aircraft frigate AAW Jean Beard and the anti-submarine frigate ASW Latouche-Treville, I myself had written that this was a «suicide attack» by Paris and that the otherwise excellent proposal was unfair because of these ships.

Obviously, I myself expected a better ship from the French fleet to help our Navy and not 25-year-old ships. But the truth is that the French could not release FREMM frigates, as Greece would ideally wish, as they are the main strike unit of the French fleet, while the LaFayette frigates, to be reinforced with the armament our Navy desires, it would take a long time and Greece wants ships in its fleet immediately.

Finally, as it turns out. the part of the interim solution is «cut off» from the overall proposal and the Navy is preparing to decide on the best ship to be the main task force of our Fleet for the next 40 years.

So the French and Belh@rra are rightly at the top of the Gen's list, as their potential is unrivalled. The revised proposal of the Naval Group concerns the possibility of addition of SYLVER70 launchers. i.e. release of the strategic SCALP NAVAL missiles with a range of more than 500 km. Missiles that have the ability to hit even... Ankara!

Recall that the airborne version of the SCALP missiles is also in the arsenal of our Air Force, in the capable Mirage 2000-5, while SCALP are located and in the quiver of the mighty Rafale.

Undoubtedly, the mighty FDI Belh@rra HN are a super weapon in the hands of any country, as it is based on high technology, great capabilities in anti-aircraft defence and anti-submarine warfare, with the first ship can be delivered to Greece in 2025. It is obvious that the French want to erase any thought in the Navy and the Greek government about buying frigates from another country. They have ships of exceptional capabilities and a very strong geopolitical footprint.

The reliable Dutch Sigma frigates and the «M» trick»

The Dutch, moving strategically, methodically and having an excellent ship's capability to propose, the frigate Sigma 11515, ...they were gradually moved... in the first places.

Of course, the Sigma's do not carry the powerful Scalp Naval, however their cost is very low and so the proposal becomes particularly attractive.

Where the Dutch have played smart is on the issue of the interim solution, proposing 2 frigates «M» by the Dutch Navy, after being maintained and upgraded. These are two Karel Doorman class ships, also known as M, the Van Speijk(F828) and the Van Amstel(F831) which have been operating for the Dutch Royal Navy since the mid-90s. They are «shit» familiar to the Navy, as they are an evolution of the S frigates, which the Greek Fleet has had in its arsenal since the early 80s.

The two Karel Doorman are of particular interest to the Navy since in case of their acquisition in record time will be able to be manned by crews from S frigates which the Fleet will withdraw.

In fact, the a naval echelon of the Navy which went to Amsterdam for the evaluation of used frigates type «M» allegedly found that the vessels are in in good condition and can help our fleet. Also, there is information that apart from the two Dutch «M» type frigates, the possibility of acquiring two more Belgian «M» frigates at a very good price has been put on the table, which is being looked at by the General Staff.

There is also the scenario, of course, that Greece will move only for the acquisition of the «M» frigates from the Dutch, as a separate piece, as we stressed above, and proceed to the acquisition of frigates from another country. However, if it decides to take the «M» as an interim solution, then it is likely that our Navy will end up with the Sigma as well.

Will the... eclipse happen?;

As military sources point out, all European proposals meet the Navy's requirements, with some having a head start. We have mentioned the French and the Dutch because they have the edge and have distinguished themselves, but that does not mean that the British, Spanish, Italians and Germans do not have ships of outstanding capabilities to present.

Recall that the Germans propose the A200 and A300 together with two Type 214 submarines, the English the Type 31 frigates, the Spanish the F110 and the Italians the FREMM, designed by Fincantieri.

In fact, reports indicate that the British company proposal Babcock for the frigate Arrowhead 140 and even «hot» from the General Staff. But it can also be a surprise!

For the proposals of the Germans and the Spanish, although they are very worthy ships, there is a reluctance about the close relations with Turkey and the stance against Greece that they took at the Summits and while the Oruc Reis was sailing on the Greek continental shelf.

It is estimated that in the next 15 days, barring the unlikely event, we'll have a final decision. The Navy has started the final evaluation of all the proposals made by the «suitors» and the Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Stylianos Petrakis is preparing his final recommendation to the Minister of Defence, Mr.Nikos Panagiotopoulos.

In conclusion, we stress once again that the Navy needs to be strengthened and immediately. Those who are working on plans for new extensions and unjustified delays should be prepared to suffer the consequences of their actions. reactions of public opinion, not to speak of consequences which could become dangerous if Turkey decides to follow last year's aggressive tactics.