Greece received four frigates of the type (MEKO 200HN) between 1992 and 1998. The first ship of the Hydra-class was built in Germany, while the rest of the ships were built locally at the Hellenic Shipyards S.A. (HSY) in Skaramangas. The four vessels, when built, were the most heavily armed and well-equipped frigates of the type.
Today, after 26-32 years of use, an MLU program is long overdue while only specific upgrades were carried out such as:
- upgrade of the STIR fire control systems to allow the firing of the RIM-162 ESSM surface-to-air missile
- re-integration of the modified Mk48 VLS
- communications improvements
- installation of a new navigation radar (TRANSAS) and an electro-optical sensor (Miltech TDR-10A).
The Hellenic Navy planned to implement an extensive MLU in the late 2000s but it was postponed multiple times as a consequence of the sovereign debt crisis, in which, Greece was most acutely affected. Over the years, Greek officials have repeatedly announced the MLU of the ships, only to face consistent delays. During this period, the budget designated for the upgrade has experienced a steady escalation, surging from €150 million to over €600 million in recent years. This increase can be attributed to shifts in leadership plans, as various administrations proposed either a limited upgrade or an extensive overhaul for only a specific number of vessels.
Finally, in April 2023, the Armaments Committee of the Greek Parliament has approved the implementation of a €600 million modernization program (platform and mission systems) for the four ships in order to extend their life by another 15-20 years. The program will be carried out by TKMS and Thales (Thales Nederland) which were selected as the Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM), at a Greek shipyard which the consortium will select. The upgrade program which is referred as “Capability Upgrade” and not MLU indicating a less extensive work, was expected to begin in 2024 and to last 7 years.
However, up to this day, there has been no progress in the program, apart from the recent announcement by TKMS and Thales that they proposed a consortium, a prerequisite term in the legal framework of the program. This compliance and official announcement on the part of TKMS perhaps indicate a justified fear of losing the program, especially after the recent statements by the Minister of Defense Nikolaos Dendias regarding the reduction of frigates slated for upgrade and the overall stagnation in initiating the process.
Note that the overall Hydra upgrade program consists of a number of separate sub-programs such as:
- the acquisition and integration of ESSM Block 2 SAM,
- the upgrade, overhaul and/or replacement of the engines (part of it has been already executed),
- the upgrade or overhaul of the mission and platform systems (the program that will be executed by TKMS and Thales),
- the upgrade of Phalanx CIWS to the latest configuration Block 1B Baseline 2
- the upgrade of the Mk45 main gun system.
Note that it is highly unlikely that all these sub-programs will be executed. The overall cost is anticipated to surpass €800-900 million, primarily attributed to the rise in raw material prices. As a consequence, the “capability upgrade” program may be limited to just three vessels. It is likely that the first ship-in-class, Hydra, which has reached 32 years of active service, will not benefit from the upgrade program. In such a scenario, the equipment extracted from the modernized ships will be repurposed to maintain those that will not undergo the upgrade.
In any case, whether to reduce the scope of the program or decrease the number of ships for upgrade, new legislative regulation would be required, which would need to pass through the Hellenic Parliament. This entails a delay of at least 1-2 years for the signing and initiation of the program.
The mission systems include a reduced amount of systems in comparison with the initial plan for an extended MLU which was evaluated only for the procurement of the equipment around €1 billion which would have reached eventually €1.5-1.8 billion including the labor cost, additional systems etc. Therefore, the new program that deals specifically with the mission and platform systems is estimated to cost a bit more than €600 million (about 1/3 of the total requirements) and will be under the responsibility of TKMS and Thales.
The mission systems equipment include the installation of a new multi-function radar (NS110) that will replace both DA08 and MW08 radars, a new R-ESM system (VIGILE Mk2) which will replace the AR-700, one or two new navigation radars per ship (TRANSAS radar perhaps will remain), the overhaul and modernization of the HMS/VDS sonar suite, the upgrade of the Mk45 gun and Phalanx which were mentioned earlier, new FCR (two STIR 1.2 per ship ), solid state CWI transmitters, a new CMS (TACTICOS Block II), new communications and data links equipment, new RHIB, and possible installation of a L-ESM system (more likely from Saab). No other improvements, requirements or systems are included in the program such as IRST, R-ECM (that will replace APECS II), C-ESM/COMINT (that will replace Telegon 10) or RWS (might be in another separate program in the future), VDS (such as CAPTAS-2), upgrade of torpedo tubes, new DLS with torpedo countermeasures (CANTO), helicopter traversing system, integrated UAV, etc.
