Greek Frigate Program May Be In Jeopardy

Sea Power, Feb 2004

Decisions on the Greek corvette/frigate program will be delayed until after parliamentary elections in April, but sources familiar with the program indicate it could be canceled.

The Greek ministry of defense has been reviewing bids for the program and is dissatisfied with them. The ministry's latest proposal in October was for the firms Elefsis and Vosper Thornycroft to drop the cost of their proposed designs by $100 million to $120 million, which is a challenge given the risk associated with new design and systems integration.

The corvette/frigate program initially was planned as a vessel of less than 2,000 tons displacement, but has grown to around 3,750 tons due to the addition of capabilities and complexity as requested by the Greek military. The Hellenic Navy has a requirement for corvettes and destroyers.

The effort to combine the programs by establishing the specifications for a corvette that offers characteristics of a destroyer has caused problems. The combination of a wholly new surface combatant design, together with establishing its construction in a local shipyard has driven up the project's costs.

AMI International Inc., Bremerton, Wash., is an international consulting and naval intelligence services company located on the Web at www.amiinter.com.