The Ship Model Forum

Ouch. Seems Naval Group won the bid.

[url=https://www.defensenews.com/naval/2022/03/24/greek-officials-sign-contract-for-three-naval-group-frigates/]Defense News[/url]


[quote][b][size=200]Greek officials sign contract for three Naval Group frigates[/size][/b]
By Sebastian Sprenger
Mar 24, 02:47 PM


WASHINGTON — The Greek government has signed the paperwork for three new French frigates, plus a fourth if things go well, in a deal that could be worth around $3.5 billion.
The March 24 announcement follows a strategic defense partnership between the countries initiated last fall by French President Emmanuel Macron and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis. The signature on the frigate purchase, ceremoniously delivered in Athens, sets in motion a tight production schedule that will see two ships delivered in 2025 and one in 2026.


[b][u]The deal with France’s Naval Group puts to rest speculation about whether Lockheed Martin was hoping for a last-minute snatch of a similar sale to the Hellenic Navy. [/u][/b]The U.S. defense giant is known to be in the running for naval business opportunities in Greece, pursuing work to upgrade existing vessels and, if the chance arises, to build entire warships.
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[/quote]

I wonder why they do that. Greece is also part of the European Patrol Corvette program:

[url]https://www.navalnews.com/naval-news/2022/03/european-patrol-corvette-could-start-construction-in-four-years/[/url]

I wonder also what kind of decommissioned warships the US Navy could offer? There is no frigate available, which is more modern or in better shape than the current older Greek frigates.

[url=https://www.defensenews.com/naval/2022/03/17/lockheed-martin-making-final-push-for-greek-frigate-construction-modernization-work/]Defense News[/url]

[quote][b][size=200]Lockheed Martin making final push for Greek frigate construction, modernization work[/size][/b]
By Megan Eckstein
Mar 17, 03:03 PM

WASHINGTON — [b][u]Talks between Lockheed Martin and the Greek Navy will continue[/u][/b], as the company has modified its pitch to secure a piece of the country’s surface fleet modernization program.

Lockheed Martin and the U.S. Navy together offered the official U.S. bid to the Hellenic Navy in December, in a letter of agreement that expired March 17.

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Yes, Greece already ordered 3 FDI frigates from France. They will get some of those originally ordered for the French navy and therefore the production run for the class will be extended to include 5 French and 3 Greek ships. There is an option for fourth Greek ship.

[url]https://www.navalnews.com/naval-news/2021/09/latest-details-on-the-deal-between-france-and-greece-for-3-fdi-frigates/[/url]

And Athens quickly declines:


[url=https://ca.yahoo.com/news/france-greece-frigate-deal-athens-215338310.html]RFI[/url]


[quote] [b][size=200] France-Greece frigate deal is "on" as Athens declines US offer[/size][/b]


Sat., December 11, 2021, 1:53 p.m.
Greece will honour a deal to buy three frigates from France after a competing offer from the United States threatened to overturn the contract.
France's armed forces ministry said Saturday: "Since we have been in discussion with the Greeks, the American offer is no longer on the table... We also signed the contract with the Greeks. It was initialled a few days ago."
Meanwhile, a source at Greece's defence ministry said "the agreement is on and moving forward".
The announcements come as the US State Department said Friday it had approved the sale for $6.9 billion of four Lockheed Martin combat frigates, known as multi-mission surface combatant ships.
The announcement suggested France faced a fresh arms deal threat after the US undercut a massive submarine contract with Australia in a shock announcement that ruptured relations between Washington and Paris.

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An update:

[url=https://www.defensenews.com/naval/2021/12/10/state-department-approves-potential-frigate-sale-to-greece-despite-agreement-with-france/]Defense News[/url]


[quote] [b][size=200]State Department approves potential frigate sale to Greece, despite agreement with France[/size][/b]
By Megan Eckstein

Dec 10, 03:57 PM

WASHINGTON — The U.S. State Department on Friday approved a pair of potential deals for frigate construction and modernization with Greece, as the Hellenic Navy navigates a complex effort to upgrade its surface fleet.
Greece has an ongoing competition for a three-part plan: upgrade its four Hydra-class MEKO 200 frigates; obtain an interim capability it can operate while the MEKOs are at the maintenance yard; and buy four new frigates. Additional objectives, as outlined to the U.S. Navy, were to involve the Greek industrial base and to increase interoperability with the U.S. as a NATO ally and frequent collaborator in the Mediterranean Sea and elsewhere.

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It is about the MMSC, a version of the Freedom class:
[url]https://www.navalnews.com/naval-news/2020/11/lockheed-martin-mmsc-to-benefit-greek-economy-and-hellenic-navy/[/url]

But there is no decision. According to the article, Greece considers these types:
Lockheed Martin with the MMSC
Naval Group with the FDI
TKMS with the MEKO A200
Damen with an unspecified design
Babcock with the Type 31

If the US government wants a deal, they cannot do it without Fincantieri. All possible frigate types are built by Fincantieri.

Funny how Fincantieri and Italy, the major player in the FREMM program, have been quickly marginalized by the current state of events.
Thanks mostly to their current inept leftist government led by a former parliamentary bartender.

This will be interesting, because Greece already has an agreement with France to built two FDI class frigates.

[url]https://www.meretmarine.com/fr/content/la-grece-signe-une-lettre-dintention-pour-lacquisition-de-deux-fregates-francaises[/url]

In addition, the question which frigate class the talk about. Are the US allowed to export a Fincantieri design? Or is it again about a Freedom class-derived type, another type built by Fincantieri?

[url=https://www.defensenews.com/digital-show-dailies/ausa/2020/10/19/us-pitches-greece-on-a-frigate-co-production-deal/]Defense News[/url]

[quote][b][size=200]US pitches Greece on a frigate co-production deal[/size][/b]
By: Valerie Insinna and David B. Larter   23 hours ago
WASHINGTON — [b][u]The United States is aggressively pitching Greece to purchase four American-made frigates, and will offer to co-produce three vessels in country,[/u][/b] the top U.S. diplomat in Greece said Thursday.

“We think the United States is going to have a very competitive product to offer there with our frigates and the unique American proposal to co-produce three of those frigates here in Greece,” said Geoffrey Pyatt, the U.S. Ambassador to Greece, during a panel discussion hosted during the during the Association of the U.S. Army’s annual conference.

[b][u]Should Greece decide to buy frigates from the United States, the U.S. government is proposing that three of them be co-produced by American-owned Onex Shipyards, based in the Greek island of Syros.[/u][/b]

Turkey’s stance in Libya shows how the Med has turned in a few years from a backwater on the fringes of Middle East turmoil to a major flash point.

“We had a U.S. Navy International Programs Office team here in Athens just a few weeks ago, which had a very successful round of discussions with Onex, visiting the shipyards [and] seeing the capabilities there,” Pyatt said.

“They came away absolutely confident that if the Greek state goes with the American frigate offer, that the United States and the US Navy IPO will be positioned to implement a co-production approach to that strategically important project — a project which is important to Greece’s long term security, but also advances America’s interest in helping Greece to continue to be a strong and effective NATO partner in a geopolitically complicated neighborhood,” he said.

(...EDITED)[/quote]