TSAMTO, February 14. The Greek Parliament, at its meeting on February 15, will consider the three most important arms procurement programs for the Armed Forces of the country in recent years, aimed primarily at expanding the capabilities of the fleet.
As reported by Ekathimerini.com, the relevant bill was submitted for consideration on February 9. It provides financing for the supply of three new multi-purpose frigates of the FDI HN (Fregate de Defense et Intervention Hellenic Navy), 6 additional multifunctional Rafale F3-R fighters from Dassault Aviation and 44 units of 533-mm SeaHake mod4 torpedoes from Atlas Elektronik for Type-214 class submarines (Papanikolis) The Greek Navy.
The total procurement budget for the six-year period will be 4.44 billion. euro. The largest tranches will be paid in the first years of the program implementation.
Thus, the cost of the program for the supply of three French frigates is 3.23 billion. euro, including the ships themselves, weapons and subsequent support.
The cost of acquiring six new "Rafales" is about 1.09 billion. euro, and 44 SeaHake torpedoes – about 112 million euros.
Meanwhile, on February 9, Defense Minister Nikos Panagiotopoulos announced the extension for another six months of the project for the construction of Super Vita-class missile boats for the Greek Navy. That is, it can be stated that the project is behind schedule.
In addition to the planned ratification of the three above-mentioned programs by parliament this week, the Defense Ministry is also negotiating the possibility of acquiring American F-35 fighter jets. Representatives of the Ministry of Defense and the Armed Forces of the USA and Greece participated in the negotiations held in recent days.
According to the publication, even if the Greek government decides to purchase fifth-generation fighters, their delivery by 2027 will be difficult. Nevertheless, the United States believes that Greece should, if there is an interest, begin the necessary procedures. In recent months, the F-35 has already been selected by a number of European countries (Switzerland, Finland).
