French shipbuilder Naval Group has unveiled its long-term cooperation plan developed to support the acquisition program of two FDI frigates — Belh@rra class — for the Hellenic Navy.
The group’s industrial and academic cooperation plan with Greece was presented during an event at the French Embassy on February 13, 2020. During the event, Naval Group signed partnerships with NTUA, the University of Patras and the University of Crete.
“This cooperation plan will support the Hellenic Navy in achieving regional superiority at sea, but also the ability of the Hellenic industry to actively prepare the future of naval warfare,” Alain Guillou, Naval Group Executive Vice-President Development, explained.
Specifically, Naval Group will share expertise and knowledge with the Hellenic Navy and industry to ensure the ships’ availability over their 30-year lifespan.
“We want to build a long-term partnership with the Hellenic industry and to guarantee the success of the frigate program as well as Hellenic sovereignty through an extensive transfer of technology. The local industry will master the know-how required to support the entire lifecycle of the frigates,” Guillou added.
The follow-on support will be based on the creation of a Digital Support Centre, capable of securing and verifying the integrity of the ship’s data. Naval Group’s combined capabilities in terms of i-maintenance, artificial intelligence and big data are expected to ensure an improved operational availability and a reduced maintenance cost.
Together with its Hellenic partners, Naval Group will also support the training of both crews and maintenance teams of the Hellenic Navy with the simulation technologies.
France will also be operating 5 FDI frigates, with the lead ship planned for delivery in 2023 with an entry into active duty in 2025. The group plans to create an engineering centre in charge of the design and development studies for future standards of the Belh@rra-class frigates, making Greece a European centre of excellence for naval warfare innovation.
Beyond Naval Group, the FDI program will bring different actors from the French naval industry to invest in the country and develop partnerships with Greek companies.