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| F460 Aegean. Photo: Greek Navy |
The Greek Navy took delivery of its last upgraded Elli class frigate, F-460 Aegeon, on 8 September, eight months later than scheduled.
Six of the 10 Elli-class frigates operated by the HN have been completing a mid-life modernisation (MLM) programme since 2003 that has upgraded the ships’ systems and extended their service life out to 2020.
There are 10 Elli class frigates in service at Greece Navy. These frigates originally designed and constructed for the Royal Netherlands Navy. A mid-life modernisation programme was started in 2002, with the aim of extending the service life of the oldest six frigates (entered service between in 1978 and 1982) till 2020.
The mid-life modernization includes the replacement of the original combat data system with the up-to-date Tacticos CDS, replacement of the ZW06 radar with Scout surface radar, improvements to the performance of LW08 and WM25 radars and installation of Mirador electro optic director.
The first modernized frigate F-462 Kountouritis was handed back to the Greek Navy in 2006. She was followed by F-495 Adrias and F-461 Navarinon in 2007, F-451 Limnos and F-450 Elli in 2009.
As it seems these old but reliable frigates will continue to be work horses of the Greek fleet for at least another decade.
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