Approximately a month after the technical launch of the second Greek FDI HN frigate Nearchos (F602) from its dry dock at the Naval Group shipyards in Lorient, France, the final structural component—the PSIM integrated mast—was installed today on the ship. This mast, along with the inverted bow, is a key characteristic of the FDI design.
The Naval Group’s mast is a separate module, manufactured independently of the hull and well in advance of sea trials. It can be powered up, tested, or even used for training purposes while still onshore. Weighing 150 tonnes and standing 42 meters tall, the integrated steel mast, known as the Panoramic Sensors and Intelligence Module (PSIM), incorporates the ship’s Command Information Center (CIC) with the latest version of the SETIS Combat Management System (CMS), a planning room for mission command staff during flagship operations, and one of the two digital data processing centers (the other is located aft in the hull for survivability). The mast also houses the majority of the ship’s above-water sensors, providing continuous 360° surveillance.
The PSIM includes advanced systems such as the Thales SEAFIRE fully digital 4D AESA S-band multi-function radar (MFR) and the Thales BLUEGATE (TSA 6000) E-scan IFF interrogator/transponder. Both systems are being deployed for the first time on ships for both the French and Greek navies. The SEAFIRE MFR uses four fixed AESA panels to ensure full 360° azimuth and 90° elevation coverage, supporting the ship’s defense against a variety of threats, from conventional to high-speed ones. It can perform multiple tasks at once, such as volume search, low-altitude surveillance, target tracking, environmental mapping, fire control, uplink support for ASTER SAM, and kill assessments. It boasts a range of 300 km, capable of tracking over 800 objects simultaneously without saturation, and offers surface coverage to the horizon. Similarly, the BLUEGATE IFF interrogator’s panels, located above the SEAFIRE panels, exemplifies the frigate’s cutting-edge technology.
The mast also hosts two navigation and surveillance radars from Wärtsilä and Terma, two Safran PASEO-XLR extra long range naval optronic systems for identification and fire control, multiple communication antennas, the TV and IR sensors of the surveillance system for inner-layer protection, and the majority of the components of the ship’s electronic warfare (EW) suite from Thales, such as the ALTESSE-H C-ESM & COMINT and SENTINEL R-ESM systems as well as half of the sensors of the NLWS L-ESM system of Saab.
The PSIM extends over several decks. Specifically, on Deck 5, there are the SEAFIRE radar arrays, which can be accessed by the crew if maintenance work on the system is required. On Deck 4 is the Data Center. On Deck 3, there is the planning and briefing room, while on Deck 2 is the CIC (Command Information Centre).
