The Greek Hydra class was designed in Germany in the late 1980s based on the design of the Meko 200 frigate, named after a many-headed serpent in Greek mythology.
The first ship was built in Germany while the remaining were built at the Hellenic Shipyards at Scaramanga. A total of four frigates were built: F-452 Hydra, F-453 Spetsai, F-454 Psara and F-455 Salamis.
The first ship was delivered to the Hellenic Navy in 1992 but it was not officially operational until 1993 due to suffered a serious fire and had to repair. The remaining ships were delayed due to financial problems, and it was not until 1998 that the last ship was completed.
When completed, the ships had a full load displacement of 4,000 tons, a length of 117.5 meters, a beam of 14.8 meters and a draft of 6 meters.
The Hydra class was more focused on anti-submarine warfare capabilities with a DE1160 Variable Depth sonar and support for one S-70B6 Aegean Hawk anti-submarine warfare helicopter, the Greek version of Seahawk using the AGM-119Mk2 Penguin Anti-ship missiles, the missile uses semi-active homing to a range of 15km.
The Hydra’s armament include the Mk 48 Mod 2 vertical launcher system for 16 RIM-162 Evolved SeaSparrow Surface to Air missiles. These missiles are installed aft of the two funnels.
For anti-ship warfare, the Hydra is equipped with two Mk-141 Guided Missile Launching System for RGM-84 Harpoon missiles.
To deal with the submarines, Hydra was installed two triple mk32 mod 5 324mm tubes for Mk46 torpedoes.
The main gun on board was one Mk-45 127mm gun capable of hitting both air and surface targets. To deal with close-range threats, the frigates are equipped with two 20mm Phalanx close-in weapon systems.
The vessels have a maximum speed of 31 knots, the maximum range is 4100 nauticalmiles with a speed of 18 knots.
