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HE crisis with turkey led the government to realize the need for an immediate reinforcement of the Armed Forces, in order to multiply its deterrent power mainly Navy and her Air Force. “When we have to make those specific investments that, unfortunately, our geopolitical position imposes, if that means some small additional sacrifices on the part of the Greek people, we all agree that these sacrifices must be made to finally protect the Armed Forces,” he stressed. the first Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis from the floor of Parliament, announcing the allocation of significant funds increase the availability of existing weapons systems along with the purchase of new weapons, such as French Rafale frigates and fighter jets.
The government’s intention to strengthen national defense, not just armaments, was confirmed to Alpha today by Finance Minister Christos Staikouras.
Aware that the government must “finance the fighting of the Armed Forces, especially in times like the ones we are going through”, Kyriakos Mitsotakis is ready to announce the allocation of funds. up to 10 billion euros of the state budget for the purchase of arms. These funds will be used for defense equipment in the coming years. Of the total of 10 billion euros, funds amounting to between 1 and 500 million euros are expected to be disbursed in the coming months for the purchase of missiles, torpedoes, spare parts and helicopters. and other immediate priority materials.
The first priority has been the acquisition of spare parts to increase the availability of French Mirage fighter jets, the purchase of spare parts for Army and Navy helicopters and the supply of modern torpedoes for German Type 214 submarines (“Papanikolis”).
In recent weeks, the “black ships” of the Navy have confirmed their superiority over the Turkish submarines. Since the main theme in submarine warfare is darkness, that is, not being able to be located and in time and place to attack the enemy without being noticed, the so-called “silent hunters” of the Navy – especially the younger submarines of “Papanikolis” type technology – turned out to be unnoticed. However, if they need to transform their superiority into hits, that is, sunken enemy targets, type 214 submarines, but also reliable type 209. I need strong torpedoes. Existing Navy torpedoes can be considered effective, however its renewal is considered urgent so the dominance of the Greek submarines becomes unquestionable. The final phase of the program foresees the allocation of 300 million euros for the purchase of some 33 modern torpedoes, probably from Germany. The Turks’ decision to acquire six German Type 214 submarines, similar to the Greek type “Papanikolis” that were so widely discredited in the past Like submarines that … tilt, show how easy it is to upset the balance when your opponent is the Turkey review. An important question is how is it possible at this time for the German government to continue with the program of selling the 214 submarines to the Turks.
Ships and planes
About two months ago the procurement program two new French frigates Belh @ rra (or FDI) seemed to have sunk, mainly due to the high acquisition cost, as funds of around 3.4 billion euros were needed. During the current Greek-Turkish crisis, negotiations were resumed. “Now the price of the two frigates is below 2 billion.”reveals a source from the Ministry of National Defense and adds: “We will not decide without negotiating, but those who supported us are the French. We asked them for boats, they brought boats. We asked for fighter planes, they brought planes. “
“The French frigates make sense to build a strong alliance”explains a diplomatic agent, pointing out that the problems and gaps found in defense planning are burning and immediate solutions are needed. “In a naval state it is imperative to start a program of shipbuilding and purchase of frigates, but wherever you order new ships, you won’t have received them before 2024“Says a historic executive and raises the crucial question of why in the last 10 years the plan to strengthen the Navy was abandoned despite the fact that since 2009, under the ministry of Vangelis Meimarakis, money was secured to start a program of frigates. “Are there no responsibilities for the disarmament of the Armed Forces?” Asking himself and analyzing his reasoning, he says that the question not only concerns politicians, former prime ministers and ministers of national defense, but also high-ranking military personnel who they were in positions of responsibility and did not press for the maintenance of naval power.
The surprise refers to the discussion that has already started and refers to the acquisition of French Rafale fighter jets. They are planes of the same type as those that took off a few days ago from Paphos, Cyprus, where they are moving, and landed in Kastelli armed with long-range Scalp missiles and participated in the Greek-French aeronautical exercise between Crete and Kastelorizo. In the discussions of the Minister of National Defense Nikos Panagiotopoulos with his French counterpart Florence Parley have raised several scenarios, such as the purchase of 10 Rafale fighters with the concession by the French Republic of eight more aircraft of the same type to create a complete war squad. The information that Athens and Paris have already drawn up a preliminary agreement for the purchase of combat aircraft is not verified, although it is confirmed that the talks between the Greek Ministry of National Defense and the French DGA (Directorate of Armaments) are progressing.
It also ranks high in the priorities of the Ministry of National Defense. the modernization of the German MEKO frigates. The Navy demands the immediate implementation of the program to strengthen the fleet’s impact force. However, this program is not a plug and play, since for the improvement of the frigates “Hydra” (acquired in 1992), “Spetsai” (joined the fleet in 1996), “Fisherman” (entered service in 1998) and “Salamina (Acquired in 1998) will take at least two years to complete.
The mistakes
After the two Unified Medium-Term Defense Equipment Programs (EMPAE) that followed the crisis in Imia, virtually no further weapons purchases were made. An exception is the purchase of 30 US F-16 Block 52plus fighter jets by the government of Costas Karamanlis. In the past five years, only the Viper 85 F-16 upgrade program has been decided, with an estimated budget of around $ 2 billion. -program that has not yet begun-, and the controversial P-3B upgrade program, for which $ 500 million has already been paid, but the modernized naval cooperation aircraft have not yet been delivered despite a significant delay in obligations contractual … Surprisingly, instead of allocating the 500 million that had been insured by the delay of the Greeks for the modernization of the frigates, the government of SYRIZA – AN.EL. has chosen … to upgrade three aging naval cooperation aircraft.
The Armed Forces Capacity Building Program is expected to reach 10 billion, with immediate disbursement of between 1 and 500 million, possibly during the year. “Our main criterion is not to escape the deficit of more than 10%, however the crisis caused by the coronavirus and the flexibility of the EU terms “It is an opportunity, as there will be no financial control,” said a government official. The question is whether the competent services of the Ministry of National Defense have prepared the ground for the immediate implementation of the absolutely necessary weapons programs or will there be procedural delays that will push supplies in January 2021 …
Pilot support
On Wednesday in Parliament, the Prime Minister revealed: “We are making very important moves as a government to to fix the black hole our defense industries had sadly found themselves in. “And we are moving forward with rapid movements and partnerships and privatizations when necessary to be able to strengthen our national defense industry as a whole,” emphasized Kyriakos Mitsotakis, noting that we must “be able to hire personnel, power to allow our pilots to support aircraft who are currently flying with great effort and, unfortunately, very often in a situation in which all the agreements for their future support have not yet been signed ”.
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