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The Israeli company Elbit beat the Canadian CAE in the “air battle” to undertake the project to create an International Flight Training Center at the Kalamata air base.
The main problem that imposed the solution to the problem of the education of Icarus is that the current plane with which it begins and ends the training of flying Air Force officers -before moving to combat and training squadrons on F-16 and Mirage aircraft- have limited availability or are considered obsolete. So many of the T-6A Texan II, the existing US-based Air Force single-engine turboprop aircraft for the initial training phase, are stuck due to a lack of support and parts.
On the other hand, the T-2E Buckeye twin-engine trainer, also of American manufacture, with which the Icarians and new lieutenants complete their training, has been in service for more than 40 years. Of the fleet of 40 T-2E advanced training aircraft, it is estimated that fewer than 10 are used to complete the training of new Air Force pilots.
Further, Support for the Buckeye T-2E will end in 2023. The situation of training aircraft, mainly due to the multi-year economic crisis and the contraction of funds available for the purchase of spare parts and their support, delays the “addiction” of pilots in flight conditions, since the hours available are more short, thus slowing down the performance of pilots in war squadrons. It is estimated that today around 50 flight officers who could have completed their flight training have not been included in the “top gun” pilot team due to the jammed training aircraft.
The Israeli Elbit offer
The Israeli side’s proposal was evaluated by the Ministry of National Defense and the Greek government as a whole as more advantageous than that of the Canadian company CAE, both in terms of financial offer and in terms of flight hours, as well as in terms of of with flight times in flight simulators. The cost of the Israeli proposal amounts to 1,375 million euros over a period of 22 years, that is, it has an average annual cost of 62.5 million euros for the state budget. The Canadian offer amounted to 1,254 million euros over a period of 20 years, that is, it had an average annual cost of 62.7 million euros.
The program will be implemented in the process of the Transnational Agreement with the Government of Israel by the method of Leasing.
The Israelis have promised to keep the T-6 Texan single-engine engines, along with the availability of new training aircraft, helping to improve Icarus’ aviation training and creating the conditions for Kalamata to become an international aviation training center. A strong argument of the Israelis is the good cooperative relations with Greece, the joint training of the Greek Air Force pilots in joint exercises with the Israel Air Force, and the understanding of Turkey’s destabilizing role in the Eastern Mediterranean region.
The Ministry of National Defense maintains that The 120th Airlift Training Wing in Kalamata will be transformed into a Training Center for Hellenic Air Force pilots, but also pilots from the wider area it seeks to attract. The International Training Center will allow airlines from other countries in the region to receive training in Greece. It is estimated that the choice of Israel will allow the attraction of trainees from countries outside NATO, which will allow in the long term to amortize part of the costs and improve the image of the country in the region in general.
The government’s arguments for choosing Elbit
The decision of the Ministry of National Defense was communicated to the members of the parliamentary commission on weapons programs and is expected to be later approved by the KYSEA.
The associates of the Minister of National Defense Nikos Panagiotopoulos maintain that the election of the Israeli company Elbit “will immediately solve for 22 years the problems of quality and quantity of the existing educational facilities.” The subprogram ends the planned stalemate and the possibility of sending Air Force pilots overseas for jet training, given the outdated nature of the reliable, but troublesome, now T-2 Buckeye’s in the US arsenal. since 1976 and whose support ceases definitively in 2023.
It is a comprehensive flight training program through the leasing of aircraft to replace the T-2, which will be accompanied by the necessary means and the support required for both the new aircraft and the T-6 for 22 years ”.
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