National Defence Minister Nikos Dendias will pay an official visit on Wednesday to the Naval Group shipyards in Lorient, where frigates for Greece are being constructed.
The ceremonial launch of the first Greek FDI HN will take place on October 4, 2023 in Lorient in the presence of Sébastien Lecornu, French minister of the Armed Forces, his Greek counterpart, Nikolaos Dendias and the Chief of the Hellenic Navy General Staff Vice Admiral Ioannis Drymousis. The lead ship, Kimon (F601), is expected to join the Greek Fleet in the first months of 2025. For the record, the keel laying of the ship took place in October 2022 highlighting a fast construction pace.
Dendias will be welcomed at the Lann-Bihoué air base at 14:30 (local time) by his French counterpart Sebastien Lecornu.
At Lorient, he will be welcomed by the Chief of the Hellenic Navy General Staff Vice-Admiral Ioannis Drymousis, with whom he will inspect the shipbuilding works of the 'Nearchos' frigate.
At 16:00 (local time), Dendias, Lecornu and Drymousis will attend the ceremonial launching of the 'Kimon' frigate.
At 17:00 (local time), Dendias will visit the French Navy's Special Operations Force base in the same area, where he will hold a bilateral meeting with Defence Minister Lecornu.
Finally, at 18:30 (local time), Dendias will visit the French Navy's shipyards headquarters at Lorient, where he will meet with its commander and personnel.
