Greek Navy to upgrade its four Hydra-class frigates.

According to information published by Ekathimerini on April 26, 2022, the Greek Ministry of Defense has decided to spend €500 million to upgrade its four Hydra-Class (MEKO) frigates.
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Greek Hydra-class frigate Spetsai (Picture source: Eunavfor)

The four Hydra-class frigates of the Hellenic Navy are based on the MEKO 200HN design built by the Gerrman company Blohm and Voss.

The first ship was built in Germany while the other three were constructed at the Hellenic Shipyards at Scaramanga. HS Spetsai (F453) was commissioned in October 1996, HS Psara (F454) in April 1998 and HS Salamis (F455) in December 1998.

They have high-level specifications for shock resistance, stiffness requirements for the fire control and radar systems, and blast and gas pressure resistance to retain the integrity of the onboard weapon systems.

The Hydra-class frigate has a length of 117.5 m, a beam of 14.8 m, a draught of 6.0 m, and a fully-loaded displacement of 4,000 tons.

The ship is powered by a Combined diesel or gas (CODOG) propulsion system including two MTU diesel engines, model 20V956TB82 with a power output of 3,830kW, a General Electric gas turbine, model LM2500-30 with a power output of 22,300kW, a reduction gearbox with clutch coupling and an SSS clutch driving an Escher Wyss controllable pitch propeller.

She can reach a top speed of 31 knots (57 km/h) with a maximum cruising range of 4,100 nautical miles (7,600 km) at 18 knots (33 km/h).

The Hydra-class frigate is armed with one Mk 45 Mod 2A 5" naval gun, two Mk15 Phalanx 20 mm CIWS (Close-In Weapon Systems), two Mk141 2×2 launchers for HARPOON anti-ship missiles, Mk 48 Mod 2 vertical launcher for 16× RIM-162 ESSM Medium-range surface-to-air missile, and two Mk32 Mod 5 2×324mm T/T for Mk46 torpedoes.