The Minister of National Defence, Nikos Dendias, mentioned the program of reform of the Armed Forces and the acquisition of two domes for the defense of the country, one anti-aircraft and one anti-drone, speaking on the OT special broadcast from Beyond 2024.
The Minister of National Defense said he was extremely optimistic that the country would be able to pull it off, revealing that the cost to acquire the two domes would reach 2 billion euros.
Mr. Dendias pointed out the need to create an ecosystem of defense industries that will produce innovative products, which will cover existing and recorded needs of the armed forces.
The Minister of National Defense stated that according to the data, our entire defense ecosystem contributes 0.74% to the GDP, a percentage which he described as negligible. “When we waste 3.7% of the time for the defense armed forces, it means that 2.9%, so 3%, if you take out the payroll, goes overseas,” he noted.
“We buy things so that we can maintain our independence, our territorial ownership. And in order to do this, we must at least be in a phase where we can respond to the challenges of our environment” underlined Nikos Dendias and added that in the face of Turkey’s weapons program “we must have a reasonable response. We are not saying to enter into a competition who will be first. We want to defend ourselves, but we want to be able to prevent it.”
When asked by the journalists Nikos Filippidis and Alexandra Fotakis about what is to blame for the country being behind in the production of defense equipment, the Minister of National Defense said characteristically that “there was a logic of ‘buying off the shelf’, on this the crisis fell and after the thing happened I neither buy off the shelf, nor produce.”
According to him, the relevant ecosystem exists. “This 0.74% is potentially not negligible. It is only as a very small percentage. If you give it possibilities and opportunities it will flourish”, presenting as an example Israel of which he characteristically said: “Israel was made from scratch. Its entire vast ecosystem, the largest per capita exporter on the planet today was made by an agricultural economy.”
Furthermore, Mr. Dendias said that the Hellenic Center for Defense Innovation will take the needs of the armed forces and announce them to the ecosystem asking for solutions. “If the solutions offered are approved by the armed forces, then they will ask for a prototype to be built and tested.
This prototype will be tested in real conditions and if it responds, the order will be placed,” emphasized the Minister of National Defense, explaining that the requested areas are drones, anti-drones, anti-aircraft, anti-aircraft dome, autonomously moving at sea, autonomously moving under the sea, autonomously moving on land, systems, sound or laser, tank protection systems.
Regarding the timetable, the minister underlined that 2030, which is set as a goal in the agenda, is more than enough, stressing that the level of readiness is extremely high.
Responding to a related question, Mr. Dendias said that the effort at ODA is very great.
“Technologies and capabilities were found in the ODA that, if developed, will surprise us all. However, there was a complete lack of connection with the Greek armed forces and the defense ecosystem. it functioned as an island of people who had great prototype ideas that were never produced and even worse never tested. The new administration takes these and presents them to the Ministry of National Defense,” he said.
He also added that “we want there to be cooperation”, pointing out that what Greece lacks is the system that will include human capital in a concerted effort directed towards a given goal.
Finally, in relation to the shipyards, he underlined the fact that Greece is entering as a co-producer in the program of the American frigates of the new generation “Constellation” class.
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