Greek National Defence Minister Nikos Dendias has said the inclusion of the frigate Kimon and the remaining FDI HN frigates will make the Hellenic Navy the most powerful it has ever been.
Dendias was speaking at a ceremony in Lorient, France, to name and raise the Greek flag on Greece’s first Belharra-class frigate.
Addressing the event at the Naval Group shipyards, Dendias stressed that Greece’s defence strengthening is defensive in nature.
“Greece is strengthening itself not in order to threaten but to protect, to guarantee and to deter, placing right before might,” he said.
He described raising the Greek flag on the Kimon as a personal honour, noting that Greece “lives and breathes through the sea”.
Dendias said it was “inconceivable” for Greece not to maintain a navy with strong capabilities, adding that the frigate’s return to the Mediterranean would “underscore the present power of Greece.”
“I have signed for the inclusion of the ‘Kimon’ in the Hellenic Navy, strengthening deterrent capacity. I deliver to the Hellenic Navy a platform of exceptional power,” he said.
Following the speech, the Greek flag was raised on the ship as the national anthem played and the crew boarded. The ceremony was attended by senior Greek and French officials, including French Defence Minister Catherine Vautrin and Naval Group President Pierre Eric Pommellet.
On the sidelines of the event, Dendias and Vautrin discussed extending the Greece–France strategic defence cooperation agreement, with Athens aiming to sign a revised five-year deal by June 2026.
According to sources, the updated agreement may include additional clauses to further enhance military and diplomatic cooperation, as well as new working groups under the SAFE 1 and SAFE 2 programmes.
Source: AMNA.gr
