The Greek Hellenic Navy has officially commissioned its seventh and final Roussen-class fast guided missile patrol vessel, HS Ypoploiarchos Vlahakos (P79).
During the September 29 launching, the navy said its new patrol vessel was named after Lieutenant Panagiotis Vlahakos, who lost his life in a helicopter crash during the 1996 Imia crisis with Turkey.
Ypoploiarchos Vlahakos
The newest addition to the Greek naval fleet is equipped with sensors and weapon systems similar to the sixth Roussen-class vessel, Ypoploiarchos Karathanasis (P78).
The last two ships feature an “upgraded Thales Vigile 100 R-ESM system and the new generation Thales STIR 1.2 EO Mk2 FCR,” which are different from the sensors of the class’ first five vessels.
Vigile 100 is a fully digital radar electronic surveillance system that provides enhanced situational awareness, threat identification, and electronic intelligence gathering.
“Vigile is capable of monitoring multiple-overlapping signals maintaining 100 percent Probability of Intercept against all signals, regardless of types of power,” manufacturer Thales writes on its website.
“This means that signals of interest such as threat emitters are not masked by higher-power signals. This is essential for operation in the littoral region and with the introduction of multi-function radars, where many high-power, high duty cycle signals are present,” the company added.
STIR, meanwhile, is a medium-to-long range tracking and illumination radar system designed with “high accuracy, excellent performance and extensive electronic counter-countermeasures capabilities.”