In January 2022, the contract for the acquisition of the three Belh @ rra frigates will be submitted to the Parliament, if everything goes according to the current schedule, while in the same month – with a probable date of January 19 – the first six will arrive in Greece. Rafale fighter jets.
These were emphasized, among others, by the Minister of National Defense, Nikos Panagiotopoulos, in a ceremonial meeting that he had, today, Monday, December 27, for the exchange of wishes with accredited authors in the ministry.
In particular, he said that for the three Belh @ rra frigates, the ministry requests the involvement of Greek companies in the defense industry in the shipbuilding process, while he went on to say that the French offer us the two ships “very quickly” and specifically in 2025.
“Besides, as he said, there is a special provision for the involvement of the interconnection of the defense industries of Greece-France in the defense agreement signed by the two countries”.
In total, as stated by N. Panagiotopoulos, 5 billion euros will be allocated for the Navy, of which about 3 billion relate to the contract for the acquisition of Belh @ rra frigates, while an amount of 1.5 billion euros will be given for the acquisition of four corvettes and about half a billion euros for the upgrade and modernization of MEKO.
In addition to the ongoing armament programs, the minister also referred to the planning for the new year, emphasizing: “Planning is easy, funding is difficult.”
He also referred to the issue of C-130 aircraft, stressing that the General Staff of the Air Force has brought a proposal from Israel that includes the maintenance of three of them and which is currently being considered.
He noted that the ministry continues to move in the direction of deepening cooperation with the United States.
Characteristically, he stated that Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis is likely to pay a visit to the White House in February, as well as a meeting between Nikos Panayotopoulos himself and his American counterpart.
“The climate,” said the minister, “is very good in relations between the two countries and we must take advantage of that.”
He did not fail to stress that exploratory contacts with Turkey will continue and set the time for the next meeting on confidence-building measures in March 2022.
On the issue of compulsory vaccination in the army, the minister pointed out that “a solid sanctioning mechanism is required first before we go to compulsory”. He said efforts were being made to increase the number of vaccinated members of the Armed Forces, adding that the aim was to “give priority to units that are on constant alert”.
Regarding Russia and the tension on its border with Ukraine, the minister made it clear that “the country should not be isolated” because this would lead to destabilization. “The right balance must be found,” he said.
N. Hardalias: The goal is to connect the Armed Forces more with society
On his part, the Deputy Minister of National Defense, Nikos Hardalias, stressed that the goal is the further connection of the Armed Forces with the society, while he particularly focused on the “big”, as he said, “their offer in the vaccination program of the country”.
He also spoke about the “Aegis 2” program, which will be “adapted to all issues related to the Armed Forces”, except for the armaments programs and, as he pointed out, will upgrade the role of the Armed Forces in the issue of tackling climate change. ».
“We are working”, added N. Hardalias, “by order of the prime minister and the minister of National Defense, in order to overcome the logics of the past that were holding us back”.
He pointed out that “a lot of work is being done in very low tones” with the cooperation of the General Staffs of the three branches of the Armed Forces and added: “We aspire to surprise you creatively.”
The meeting was also attended by the Chiefs of the General Staff of National Defense, General Konstantinos Floros, the General Staff of the Army, Lieutenant General Charalambos Lalousis, the General Staff of the Air Force, Lieutenant General George Blioumis and the General Staff of the Navy.
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