HS AEGEAN is the third Frigate of type Standard that was acquired by the Hellenic Navy. The two previous are HS ELLI  and HS LIMNOS. The name AEGEAN was given in regard of the significance of the AEGEAN SEA that for thousands of years is the connective ring between land and the east Greek islands. HS AEGEAN is the fourth ship of Hellenic Navy bearing the same name.

The ship was built in Holland by the Royal Schelde Shipyard in close cooperation with the Dutch Navy. She was launched in 13/07/1978 and put into operational use in 29/10/1980, under the name «BANKERT». In 1992, Hellenic Navy decided her bought, together with another two of the same type. The ship was delivered to Hellenic Navy in 14/05/1993 in Den Helder and was renamed to HS AEGEAN, with first Commanding Officer the Commander K. Anastasatos HN. She sailed in Greece on 19 July of 1994. From 8 July of 2008 to 8 September of 2010 Mid-Life Modernization (MLM) work was carried out on the Frigate by the Greek shipyards S.A. (INAE) in Skaramangas, in the context of upgrading her systems.