Greece
Greek gunboats train in exercise BRONTI 2/26 in the Saronic Gulf and Myrtoan Sea
Gunboats of the Hellenic Navy’s Surveillance Ships Command took part in exercise BRONTI 2/26 on October 8 and 9, with gunnery and helicopter hoist drills.
Gunboats of the Hellenic Navy’s Surveillance Ships Command took part in exercise BRONTI 2/26 on Thursday, October 8, and Friday, October 9, in the Saronic Gulf and the Myrtoan Sea, according to an announcement by the Hellenic Navy General Staff.
What the crews trained for
The photos released with the announcement show the gunboat Polemistis (P-61) and other vessels sailing in formation, a naval helicopter carrying out a hoist drill over a gunboat, and live firing of the main gun. Spike NLOS missile launchers can also be made out on some of the vessels.
Exercises of this kind keep the crews of the smaller surface units ready for their routine task of surveillance and presence around the Aegean islands, where cooperation with naval helicopters and live-fire practice are part of the yearly training cycle.
The Polemistis and the Osprey-type boats
The Polemistis was built at the Hellenic Shipyards in Skaramangas to designs by the National Technical University of Athens, based on the improved Danish Osprey class. It is the second of two open-sea patrol vessels after the Kasos: her keel was laid in 1992, she was launched in 1993 and commissioned on June 16, 1994. She displaces 595 tonnes, measures 56.5 by 10 by 3.8 metres, and is driven by two Wärtsilä NOHAB 16V25 engines for a speed of 23 knots.
Her armament includes an OTO Melara 76/62 gun, a Bofors/OTO Breda 40L70 gun, two Rheinmetall 20 mm guns, Stinger missiles and provision for MK-6/18/55 mines. Her mission is surveillance of the eastern Aegean islands and a presence in border areas.
The four Osprey HSY 56A boats, Machitis, Nikiforos, Aittitos and Krataios, displace 575 tonnes, also carry a 76/62 gun and the Spike NLOS missile, and are powered by two Wärtsilä 16V25 engines totalling 10,000 horsepower for 21 knots.
