By Abdul Karimkhanov

Copyright trend

BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 27. Deputy Minister
of National Defense Thanasis Davakis spoke during the 2nd and 3rd
sessions of the Standing Committee on National Defense & Foreign
Affairs, Trend

The discussion focused on the draft bill of the Ministry of
National Defense regarding the procurement of an additional “FDI
HN” type frigate, the upgrade of the remaining three to the
Standard 2++ level, as well as their follow-on support.

Also participating in the committee session were the Chief of
the Hellenic National Defense General Staff, General Dimitrios
Choupis, and the Chief of the Hellenic Navy, Vice Admiral
Dimitrios–Eleftherios Kataras HN.

At the beginning of his speech, the Deputy Minister noted that
he had listened carefully to all colleagues who had spoken on the
draft bill in the previous sessions, expressing his satisfaction
that they had studied the contracts under ratification carefully
and voiced sincere concerns.

He underlined, however, that the questions raised show that
neither the techno-economic complexity of modifying an ongoing
shipbuilding program, nor the international situation in the global
defense equipment market, nor the lessons learned from recent
conflicts—presented in detail by both the Chief of the Navy and
Minister Nikos Dendias—have been fully assessed.

Mr. Davakis emphasized that “maritime and air control operations
for the protection of our sovereign rights require the ability to
operate at a distance from our coasts and a prolonged presence on
the spot. They also require defense capabilities in an operational
environment rich in threats and interference, as well as the
ability to project firepower at high altitude, long range, and
beyond the horizon.

The purchase of the 4th frigate and the upgrade of the other
three to the Standard 2++ level contribute both to the quantitative
and qualitative strengthening of the Hellenic Navy, which is called
upon to operate on the front line in the protection of our national
interests and within the framework of the unified defense

He also made special reference to the establishment, for the
first time, of a 25% participation quota for the domestic defense
industry in a major procurement of the Armed Forces, stressing that
“it is not necessary for this to be implemented solely within the
framework of this procurement, but that it can also be complemented
by the participation of Greek companies in other projects of the
contractor. In other words, this also potentially institutionalizes
the long-term integration of Greek companies into the supply chains
of the French industry.”