During the Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis’ visit to France, 16 additional Sylver A-50 VLS cells were spotted on the FDI frigate Kimon. Originally, the frigates being built for Greece were planned with 16 Sylver A-50 VLS cells for Aster-15/30 air defence missiles in a 2x8 configuration named Standard 1.. However, the recent visit of the Greek Prime Minister shows the addition of another 16 cells on the frigate, reaching the maximum count for the platform as Standard 2. -Kimon is the leading ship in the Kimon-class frigates being built by the French Naval Group for the Hellenic Navy. It is also learned that the next frigate Nearchos will be delivered with 32 Aster vertical launch cells. Sylver stands for SYstème de Lancement VERtical in French.
Three ships will be built in total. The first two ships are scheduled to be delivered in 2025, while the final is set for 2026.
Kimon’s design is based on the FDI design of Naval Group. With a displacement of 4500 tonnes, FDI features space for up to 32 VLS cells, eight anti-ship missiles, and one CIWS/PDMS. The main sensors include a four-array Thales SEA FIRE AESA radar suite, navigation radars, and electro-optics.
