The Greek Navy frigate HS Psara is demonstrating how drones can be neutralized at low cost using Greece’s Centaur counter-drone system.
- The financial challenge of modern air defense
- The Greek Centaur system
- The return of naval guns
- New mission to Cyprus
- Lessons for modern naval forces
At a time when the cost of air defense is rapidly rising for modern naval forces, a Greek frigate appears to offer a different model for dealing with emerging threats.
According to The Military Channel, the Hellenic Navy frigate HS Psara (F454) has emerged as an example of a more economically sustainable strategy for countering the swarms of drones that now dominate modern battlefields.
During operations in the Red Sea, the ship successfully neutralized drone attacks using a combination of indigenous electronic warfare technology and conventional naval weapons. This approach demonstrates that countering a war of attrition does not necessarily require the most expensive weapons systems.
The Financial Challenge of Modern Air Defense
In recent years, naval forces such as those of the United States and its allies have faced a difficult economic reality: destroying cheap drones with extremely expensive missiles creates an unsustainable balance.
In some cases, interceptor missiles costing up to $2 million are used to destroy drones worth only a few tens of thousands of dollars. Within this context, the operational experience of the Greek frigate Psara suggests a different and more efficient approach.
The Greek Centaur System
At the core of the ship’s defense strategy is the Centaur counter-drone system, developed by the Hellenic Aerospace Industry.
The system belongs to the category of “soft-kill” technologies. Instead of destroying a target with a missile, it uses powerful radio-frequency interference to disrupt communication between a drone and its operator.
One of its key advantages is its ability to passively detect targets at distances of up to 150 kilometers, without activating radar that could reveal the ship’s position.
During a typical engagement on July 7, 2024, the Psara used the Centaur system to electronically disable two drones. The drones either crashed or automatically activated their safety protocols and moved away from the area.
The cost of the interception was essentially limited to the electrical energy required to operate the system.
The Return of Naval Guns
At the same time, the ship also relied on a more traditional defensive method: its main naval gun.
During the same operation, the 127mm Mk 45 gun was used to shoot down a drone.
This option is proving to be extremely cost-effective. A proximity-fused shell for this cannon costs between $2,000 and $5,000, many times cheaper than modern interceptor missiles.
Using this approach, a frigate can potentially counter hundreds of drones at the cost of a single missile.
New Mission to Cyprus
The operational experience of the frigate Psara has already led to a critical new mission.
Following the drone and missile attacks in March 2026 against the British base RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus, the Greek government deployed the frigate to the region to strengthen the island’s defenses.
In this mission, Psara operates alongside the modern HS Kimon frigate. The two ships address different layers of threats:
- Kimon uses advanced radars and long-range missiles to counter high-altitude targets.
- Psara focuses on detecting and neutralizing low-cost drone swarms.
The Lesson for Modern Naval Forces
The experience of the Greek frigate highlights an important lesson: the future of naval defense may not lie in larger or more expensive weapons, but in smarter combinations of technology.
Although Psara belongs to the Hydra-class frigates and is based on a hull that is nearly three decades old, the integration of modern Greek technology has transformed it into a highly effective asset in contemporary naval warfare.
The ship’s success suggests that innovation and adaptability may be just as important as cutting-edge hardware in the evolving battlefield of the 21st century.
