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According to the statements by the Greek Minister of National Defence Nikos Panagiotopoulos, the option of the additional custom Gowind 2500 corvettes from France would frame the agreement for the 3 + 1 new Belharra HN frigates of the Hellenic Navy is clarified.
Greek Minister of National Defence Nikos Panagiotopoulos said that we will soon expect good news on the issue of corvette procurement.
According to information, their number reaches 4 corvettes in total and at this time the talks between Greece & France on the weapons configuration and location of their construction are in full swing for Gowind 2500 corvettes
There are two possible versions of corvettes:
- Gowind 2500
- Gowind 3100
The most likely cost limitation is for the Hellenic Navy to be discussing at this time is the first one which is the Gowind 2500.
STEALTH DESIGN
Unlike other corvettes, the Gowinds are designed with low radar cross-section, avoiding detection by enemy forces following characteristics from the design of the Belharra frigates.
POSSIBLE EQUIPMENT
The basic version of Gowind that may be the configuration of the Navy or the basis for additional weapons includes:
Main weapon: OTO Melara 76mm
Turrets: 2 Nexter Narwhal 20mm
Air defence: 16 VL MICA or different configuration with ESSM
Anti-ship : 8 MBDA MM40 Exocet
Torpedoes: 2 triple torpedo tubes
The radar system, we do not know exactly what is the type that will equip the Greek order but according to the Egyptian version of Gowind corvette includes a 360-degree radar and will probably be the SMART-S MK2 that reaches 250 kilometres for air targets, 80 kilometres for surface targets and can monitor up to 750 targets at the same time according to Thales that produces it.
In addition, the ship will probably, based on the orders for other countries will include ECM (electronic countermeasure system) and the SETIS combat system that will be able to work excellently with the new Belharra frigates that the Greek Naval Forces recently acquired.
HELICOPTER – UAV
The Gowind 2500 have a hangar for one helicopter but also can accommodate a small UAV, dramatically increasing their capabilities, with the Austrian CAMCOPTER S-100 being one of the favourite choices of the Hellenic Navy for its equipment, as it has already equipped the Egyptian Gowind 2500.
We would like to remind you that the Hellenic Navy has already tested the UAS CAMCOPTER S-100 successfully and has expressed interest in acquiring it.
CREW
The Gowinds have another useful feature as they don’t need a large crew to operate. Specifically, it takes about 80 people for the ship to become operational along with the helicopter crew.
ANTISUBMARINE WARFARE
The Gowinds are equipped with CAPTAS VDS and a Hull Mounted Sonar probably the Kingklip Mk2 to locate submarines.
SUMMARY for Gowind 2500 Corvette
In this article, we tried to present to you the possible configuration of the Gowind 2500 that we believe the Greek Navy is discussing with France but we cannot say with certainty that this equipment will not be different in the final Greek version.
