JUST IN: US Gov. Authorizes $9.4 Billion Arms Sale to Greece
• MEKO Class Frigate Modernization ($2.5 billion)
• Multi-Mission Surface Combatant (MMSC) Ships ($6.9 billion)
The U.S. State Department has ratified the potential sale of four Multi-Mission Surface Combatant ships for $6.9 billion to Greece alongside $2.5 billion worth of upgrades to Greece’s existing Meko Class ships, the Pentagon said on Friday.
The deal follows a September agreement where Greece said it would buy French frigates worth about 3 billion euros ($3.51 billion).
The proposed sale would include four Multi-Mission Surface Combatant Ships, similar to the 370-plus-foot-long Littoral Combat Ships used by the U.S. Navy, and associated missiles, sonars, weapons, spares and technical support, the Pentagon said.
The modernization deal, if executed, would include upgrading the MEKOs by installing the Close-in Weapon Systems (CIWS) Phalanx BLK 1B Baseline 2, MK 45 five-inch 54 calibre guns, the COMBATSS-21 Combat Management System developed for the Freedom LCSs, the AN/SQS-56 sonar and much more. Raytheon Missiles and Defense, Lockheed Martin, BAE Systems and VSE would be the key contractors.
The new construction deal would include four multi-mission surface combatants with the Aegis-based COMBATSS-21 Combat Management System, 200 Rolling Airframe Missiles (RAM) BLK 2, 32 Vertical Launch Anti-Submarine Rocket (ASROC) missiles, 32 MK-54 All Up Round Lightweight Torpedoes and more — plus support equipment, training, technical support, logistics and more to ensure the new ships fold smoothly into fleet operations.
