Rome; September 2026: The signing of the Implementation Agreement (IA) for the procurement of 02 second-hand Bergamini-class frigates from the Italian Navy's stock - marks the start of the process for their integration into the Greek Hellenic Navy (HN).
The time evolution of the program is very rapid and undoubtedly reflects the urgency of the renewal of the major units of the Hellenic Navy, as with the exception of the first FDI-HN frigate (KIMON F 601), the rest are between 28 years old (the youngest MEKO-200HN) and 48 years old (the oldest Standard type).
The procurement concerns only two Bergamini-type frigates, the Italian version of the FREMM design developed jointly with France. The IA mentions the possibility of acquiring two additional frigates of the type, as well as the possible acquisition of the new FREMM EVO-type frigates and any additional ships, but is not binding.
As per Greece Naval Sources, the following will be acquired:
· The General Purpose (GP) configuration Carlo Bergamini F-590 , which entered Italian service on 29 May 2013.
· The Virginio Fasan F-591 anti-submarine warfare (ASW) configuration entered service on December 19, 2013.
The cost of the two frigates in the "as is" state amounts to 238.8 million euros and 229.4 million euros respectively. In his statements at the signing of the IA, Minister of National Defence Nikos Dendias stated that the F-590 will be delivered in the first half of 2028 and the F-591 in the first half of 2029 , sooner than initially forecast.
These are the first two Bergamini-type frigates out of a total of 10 built for the Italian Navy, of which 02, those which have never entered Italian service, were sold to Egypt in 2020-2021 for 1.2 billion euros, according to open sources.
According to official information, the procurement of the two frigates will be implemented as follows:
· The Italian Navy will resell the 02 frigates to Orizzonte Sistemi Navali Spa (OSN), a joint venture formed by Fincantieri (51%) and Leonardo (49%), which is the prime contractor of the Organisation for Joint Armaments Cooperation ( OCCAR : Organisation Conjointe de Cooperation en matière d' Armament) which acts as the contracting authority on behalf of the Italian Navy. The sale price will be calculated as a credit in favour of the Italian Navy against ongoing or future contracts for technological upgrading and modernisation of its capabilities.
· OSN will transfer ownership of the 02 frigates to Fincantieri by contract.
· The resale agreement will enter into force and be activated upon the conclusion of a commercial acquisition and modernisation agreement (ESAE) between the Ministry of National Defence (MND) and Fincantieri, which will be activated upon the payment of the full amount of the “as is” value for each frigate. The ESAE, which will be signed simultaneously with the resale of the 02 frigates to OSN, will set out the terms for the acquisition, maintenance, modernisation works and adaptation of the Greek shipyard where the two frigates will be restored and maintained.
· The IA foresees that the procurement cost of the 02 frigates (excluding taxes, duties or other charges) will not exceed the aforementioned amounts and the overhaul and modernisation costs will be determined by the ESAE . It also states that the responsibility for the final quality control and acceptance of the ESAE work is assumed exclusively by the Ministry of National Defence, which may request the assistance of the Italian Ministry of Defence.
· As for the warranty, it is not provided by the Italian Ministry of Defence but by Fincantieri, which will deliver the 02 frigates to the Navy. According to information, they will be delivered with a six-month warranty and three-year On-going Support (ESS).
Within the framework of the IA, an intergovernmental agreement will be concluded between the Ministries of Defence of the two countries, which will include technical agreements (TA). On the one hand, for the provision of support by the Italian side during the negotiation and implementation of the ESAE to ensure fair and reasonable pricing and, on the other hand, for the participation of the Greek side in a common spare parts stock and access to joint obsolescence and support studies of the frigates.
When the two frigates are delivered, they will be in the middle (age 15 and 16 years respectively) of their design life, that is, they will be ripe to undergo a Mid-Life Modernisation (MLM) with a dual purpose: on the one hand, to make them capable of facing the threats of the future theater of operations and on the other hand, to address the problems of obsolescence of systems and equipment. At present, there is no confirmed information on the scope of the MLM, but the determining factor is the credits that will be allocated.
However, it is considered a given that the Teseo Mk. 2A surface-to-surface guided missiles (SGMs) carried by the Bergamini in Italian service will be replaced either with newly procured Exocet MM-40 Block 3c (in the context of homologation with the FDI-HN) or with inferior performance RGM-84 Harpoon from a stock that will come from decommissioned units. The procurement of Aster 30 surface-to-air SGMs, either newly built or from the Italian Navy's stock, is also necessary It is recalled that for cost-cutting reasons the contract for the fourth FDI-HN frigate did not include a weapons load, so the stock ordered for the first three is unable to cover the fourth and the two Bergamini. The Navy also desires the installation of a CAPTAS-4 towed sonar on the F-590 (which already has a keel sonar) in order to increase anti-submarine warfare capabilities.
The installation of two additional Sylver A50 or Sylver A70 vertical launch systems, which provide the ability to launch the MdCN cruise missile against land targets, will incur a major cost, so that each Bergamini will have 32 launch cells (4×8) like the FDI-HN. Additional costs will also be required for the support, maintenance and training infrastructure, as the Bergamini are equipped with systems of Italian origin that are not in service with the Hellenic Navy.
After the country did not take advantage of the long-term, low-interest loans of the European SAFE instrument to finance major programs (such as Portugal for the €3.9 billion procurement of three FREMM EVO frigates and their support for 30 years), the Bergamini became a unique choice.
They relatively immediately alleviate the problem of obsolescence of major surface units, but in the event that they undergo a complete overhaul, which was not done on the Standard, let alone the MEKO-200HN, doubts arise as to whether they will ultimately prove to be more advantageous than the procurement of new frigates. Especially if their number is ultimately limited to 02.
Team Maverick.
