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With the consent of the majority and the assistance of KINAL, the Parliamentary Commission for Weapons Programs approved the € 1.37 billion program for the creation of an international center for the training of fighter pilots.
However, according to the information, there were reactions from the other opposition parties in the meeting, which did not allow the desired consensus to be reached.
In this context, SYRIZA abstained from voting, reacting to the choice of a 20-year lease by a private Israeli company. According to the same sources, the official opposition responded that “there were other solutions”, pointing out that the project could have been carried out with its own means and with the know-how acquired by the Greek side.
A similar criticism was voiced by the representative of the Hellenic Solution, Antonis Mylonakis (voted against), who reacted to the private nature of the process.
However, according to the same sources, the Minister of National Defense, Nikos Panagiotopoulos, pointed out that there was no alternative proposal to put on the consultation table.
As for the other parties, both the KKE and MERA25 did not approve the convention.
The International Flight Training Center in Kalamata
The international flight training center in Kalamata is a success for the country as it increases Greece’s geopolitical footprint in the region.
As sources from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs pointed out, the subprogram:
- It serves the operational need to train Air Force pilots and the goal of creating an International Flight Training Center in Kalamata, at the 120th Air Training Wing.
- The strategic relationship with Israel is expanding and strengthening.
- It solves immediately for 22 years the problems of qualitative and quantitative adaptation of the existing educational means.
- An end to the planned impasse and the possibility of sending Air Force pilots abroad for jet training, given the outdated nature of the reliable, but troublesome, but now T-2 Buckeye that are in the AP arsenal.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-2s, which will be accompanied by the necessary means and the support required for both the new aircraft and the T-6s for 22 years.
- Kalamata is being transformed into a training center for pilots of the Greek Air Force, but also for 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 selection of Israel will allow the attraction of trainees from countries outside of 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.
Why Israel’s Proposal Was Chosen
According to sources from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Israeli proposal is more advantageous than the Canadian one (CAE) both in terms of economic offer and in terms of flight hours, as well as in terms of flight hours in flight simulators. The cost of the Israeli proposal is 1,365 million euros for a period of 22 years, that is, at an average annual cost of € 62.5 million, compared to the Canadian supply of 1,254 million euros for a period of 20 years with an average annual cost of 62.7 million euros.
The program will be executed through the Transnational Agreement process with the Government of Israel through the Leasing method. Selection is part of Memorandum of defense cooperation between Greece and Israel, based on the geostrategic and geopolitical interests common in the region in general, especially in the current situation.
Regarding the company ELBIT, is an international company with strong credentials in the Israeli Air Force pilot training mechanism.
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