Hydra-class frigate
HS Spetsai F-453 transits the Mediterranean Sea during Phoenix Express (2008) | |
Class overview | |
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Name: | Hydra, MEKO 200 HN |
Builders: | Blohm + Voss , Hellenic Shipyards |
Operators: |
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In commission: | 1992–present |
Planned: | 6 |
Completed: | 4 |
Cancelled: | 2 |
Active: | |
General characteristics | |
Type: | frigate |
Displacement: | 3,360 tons standard, 4,000 tons full load |
Length: | 117.5 m |
Beam: | 14.8 m |
Draught: | 6.0 m |
Propulsion: |
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Speed: | 31 knots (gas turbine), 21 knots (diesel only) |
Range: | 4,100 nautical miles (8,000 km) at 18 knots (33 km/h) |
Complement: |
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Sensors and processing systems: |
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Electronic warfare & decoys: | |
Armament: |
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Aviation facilities: | Hangar for 1 Sikorsky S-70B-6 Aegean Hawk helicopter |
The Hydra class[1][2] are a group of four frigates in service with the Hellenic Navy. They were designed in Germany and are part of the MEKO group of modular warships, in this case the MEKO 200 design. The programme was authorised in 1988 and partially paid for with FMS aid and previsioned for the commission of six vessels. The first ship was built in Germany and commissioned in 1992 but suffered a serious fire while working up near Portland, England. Repairs were completed in 1993. The Greek built warships were delayed due to financial problems on the part of the Hellenic Shipyards completing in the late 1990s which also led to limiting the total number of vessels to four mainly after the acquisition of eight Kortenaer class frigates from the Netherlands in the late 1990s.
Upgrade programs
In 2007, an upgrade of the STIR fire control system to allow the firing of the RIM-162 ESSM surface-to-air missile was launched. Salamis was the first to be upgraded and, in August 2008, successfully completed a live firing test. The other three Hydra vessels were upgraded during 2008.
On April 25, 2018 the Greek defense minister Panos Kammenos announced that the modernization of the four vessels is in progress but without presenting any further details about the program[3] According to some reports the available funding is only 100 million Euro (the Navy had proposed a mid-life modernization program with a cost of 400 million)[4].
Ships
Ship | Namesake | Builder | Commissioned | Status |
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F-452 Hydra Ύδρα | Hydra | Blohm + Voss | November 12, 1992 | In Service (As of 2018) |
F-453 Spetsai Σπέτσαι | Spetses | Hellenic Shipyards | October 24, 1996 | In Service (As of 2018) |
F-454 Psara Ψαρά | Psara | Hellenic Shipyards | April 30, 1998 | In Service (As of 2018) |
F-455 Salamis Σαλαμίς | Salamis | Hellenic Shipyards | December 16, 1998 | In Service (As of 2018) |
In popular culture
The Hydra Class frigate is featured in season four of The Last Ship. The Hydra class rendered in the show deviated from the Hydra class resembling a lightly modified Kortenaer class.
See also
- List of naval ship classes in service
- Vasco da Gama-class frigate - built for Portugal
- Anzac-class frigate - built for Australia and New Zealand
- Barbaros-class frigate - Built for the Turkish Navy
- Valour-class frigate - MEKO A-200 frigates built for the South African Navy
Gallery
- US Navy 100528-N-3136P-212 The Greek navy frigate HS Spetsai (F-453) transits alongside the Military Sealift Command container and roll-on-roll-off ship USNS LCPL Roy M. Wheat (T-AK 3016)
- HS Psara F 454
- HS Salamis F 455
- A view from onboard the US Navy (USN) Sacramento Class Fast Combat Support Ship, USS SEATTLE (AOE 3), showing The Greece Navy Hydra Class (Meko 200HN) Frigate, Hellenic Ship (HS) PSARA (F 454), underway conducting Replenishment At Sea (RAS) operations during Operation ENDURING FREEDOM (2002)
- Frigate HS Hydra F 452 at Piraeus port (2009)
References
- ↑ Hydra class MEKO-200HN frigates, article with many photos in seaforces.org
- ↑ Hydra class frigates of the Hellenic Navy, presentation in naval-technology.com
- ↑ The 4 Hydra class frigates to be modernized, onalert.gr 25/04/2018 (in Greek).
- ↑ Article about the modernization of MEKO 200 frigates after the announcements of the Greek defense minister, in the reputed Greek military magazine "PTISI & DIASTIMA" 25/04/2018 (in Greek)
Sources
- Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1947-1995
- Hellenic Navy website