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Which “suitors” enter the home stretch – The French return with an improved proposal for the mighty Belh @ rra – The “thorn” in the negotiations with the Americans – The Dutch, the British, the “wedge” and the “surprise proposal “
The agreement for the acquisition of the 18 Rafale fighters is now a Greek State Law and only the final signatures by the Defense Ministers of Greece and France to paint the French superpowers blue and white.
The grand agreement, implemented by the Minister of Defense Mr. Nikos Panagiotopoulos in in time – three month recordNot only was the Air Force waiting impatiently. Both the Navy and the Army are waiting for the completion of the procedures, in order to acquisition of new weapons systems.
The contacts are continuous in the Greek “Pentagon”, with the Chief of Staff, General Konstantinos Floros and the General Staff having formed a complete plan with the needs of the Branches and have delivered it to the direction of the ministry that will give the “light green “. Mr. Panagiotopoulos priority is maintenance and improvement of existing military equipment and, of course, supply of new and modern equipment when required.
At the top of the agenda is the new Navy frigate
The Air Force now acquires the mighty Rafale, upgrades the F-16 block 52+ fighters to Viper, and receives spare parts for the Mirage 2000-5.
Therefore, it is time to enter the top of the Defense Minister’s agenda. acquisition of new frigates for the Greek fleet. Drum units from our Navy and experienced crews demonstrated during the crisis with Turkey that although the helmets are old, they are the spearhead of the Armed Forces, showing admirable zeal, professionalism, determination and demonstrating in the field what it means Greek navigation.
However, as everyone understands, Despite the overexertion to keep critical operating units at the highest level of operation, time and wear have left their mark in κα frameworks and immediate changes and interventions are required. The issue has long preoccupied military leaders and politicians alike, and GEN leaders have repeatedly noted that The main frigate units of the Frigate Command must be renewed, both with new ships and with modernization of the four MEKO type frigates.
The objective of the Ministry of Defense, GEETHA and of course GEN, is to acquire ships that will be economically advantageous and will have weapons and systems that will be perfectly adapted to the needs of the Navy. The Greek side has made it clear to everyone possible “suitors”.
The Navy leadership has made it clear The new frigate must have specific capabilities, with an emphasis on modern and multi-mission electronic warfare systems and anti-submarine warfare. Basically, its objective is to acquire multipurpose vessels with greater capacities to cover an area to operate in the open sea of the Eastern Mediterranean.
What do the French cook for Belh @ rra? The new proposal
According to the information, the French say they are excited about the speed at which the Rafale contract was discussed, agreed and prepared, eagerly looking forward to continuing the purchase of weapons systems from Athens and the Greek government in order to deepen defense cooperation with Paris. For this reason, the French Defense Minister, Florence Parley, brings to Athens a new improved proposal for the purchase of four French Belha @ rra frigates.
Next week, the French minister will likely come to Athens to sign the Rafale agreement. During the contacts in the Greek “Pentagon”, Panagiotopoulos and Parley are once again invited to open the file “Frigates Belh @ rra” and try to solve their difficult acquisition equation..
According to the information, the French offer four Belh @ rra at an improved price and with first-rate equipment which is of great interest to the Navy. More specifically, the Naval Group’s proposal for four new Belhara frigates for 3.5 billion without weapons is assessed as particularly tempting by Greek personnel.
However, the intermediate solution that the French must propose is questionable. Ships ready that will leave the French Fleet and join the Greek until the Greek Belh @ rra are ready. The information indicates that they can be proposed in Greece the Fremm or La Fayette.
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Fremm type frigate
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La Fayette type frigate
The Navy wants the French Fremm frigates as an intermediate solution, ships for which there has been interest in the past for the Greek Fleet to acquire. However, the Fremm are the main attack units of the French Navy and it is very difficult to free two ships and deliver them to Greece. However, as military sources point out, with a program close to 5,000 million euros, it is possible the French eventually went overboard and gave the Navy as an intermediate solution at least a Fremm frigate along with an improved La Fayette or two.
Americans and the “thorn” of Arleigh Burke
A few weeks ago we wrote that Americans had a slight advantage in relation to other countries, offering a comprehensive proposal to Greece for the acquisition of MMSC frigates.
The indications even led to the conclusion that The acquisition of MMSC, as well as the commitment by the Americans to modernize the four Greek “MEKOs”, in combination with the participation of the Greek shipyards in the deal, was a very tempting proposition. for Navy leadership.
However, the process of sending the Greek interest is still on hold, and Athens requests the powerful solution as an intermediate solution. Destroyer Arleigh Burke, which Washington is reportedly stubbornly refusing to yield to the Greek fleet for various reasons it cites. So if Americans don’t award two Arleigh Burke, then it is very likely that the case of acquiring MMSC will not proceed and the Navy will resort to other solutions.
For this reason, Nikos Panagiotopoulos was quick to say from the Parliament floor that nothing has ended on the issue of acquiring new frigates, thus sending a message to any interested “suitor”.
The Dutch, the British, the “wedge” and the surprise
Both the Dutch and the British have been heavily involved in the purchase of new frigates. The Dutch are said to have proposed the Sigma frigates with a possible intermediate solution the two M frigates of the Dutch navy.
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Sigma type frigate.
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Type M frigate. Proposal for an intermediate solution by the Dutch.
The British, for their part, are proposing the Type 31 frigate, offering the Type 23 frigates as an intermediate solution.
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British Type 31 frigate.
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British type 23 frigate. British proposal for an interim solution.
The information indicates that the Germans will also be “embedded” in the “naval battle”, proposing the A200 frigates.
In the last days there is information that There is another country – “surprise” that has expressed interest in building the new Greek frigate. This is Spain, which in recent years has entered the defense industry dynamically, with even the Turks commissioning the Spanish Navartia to build the first Turkish aircraft carrier, Anadolou.
The F-110s are the new frigates of the Spanish Navy and are an evolution of the F-100 in service. In total, Spain will build five (5) F-110s for 4.3 billion euros. The unit price without ammunition or support is estimated at 860 million euros per ship.
According to the information, all the proposals will be compiled in January and will be analyzed in detail by the political and military leadership of the Greek “Pentagon”. It is not ruled out that the new ships will be “won” by the country that will present a complete package, that is, a new frigate, an intermediate solution, MEKO improvement, construction of at least two of the four ships in the Greek shipyards. If none of the claimants have a solution – “package”, then the Greek requirements can be separated, with the MEKO update it is possible to proceed with a separate agreement.
What the military leadership would certainly not want is the acquisition of new frigates to go to an international competition. That would mean long delays, even two years. With Turkey threatening daily in the Aegean and the eastern Mediterranean, the need to strengthen the Greek fleet is characterized as imperative.
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