Extremely optimistic that Greece will manage to create an ecosystem of defense industries, “which will be able to produce innovative products that meet the existing and recorded needs of the Greek Armed forcessaid the Minister of National Defense, Nikos Dendiasin an interview he gave in the studio of the Economic Post Office at the exhibition BEYOND 2024, in Thessaloniki.
As he said, a new framework will be created, the Hellenic Center for Defense Innovation, which will take the needs of the Armed Forces and announce them to this ecosystem.
Priority, he pointed out, will be given to the creation of two domes, an anti-aircraft and an anti-drone dome, for which the sum of 2 billion euros has been committed.
Mr. Dendias emphasized that our defense ecosystem contributes to the GDP the negligible, as he characterized it, 0.74% and added that Greece buys equipment from abroad “to be able to maintain our independence, our territorial integrity, and to do this we must at least be in a phase that allows us to respond to the challenges of our environment”
“As you know, Greece – I always say – is not Luxembourg, not everyone is our friend next door, they don’t throw carnations at us. You look at the shipbuilding program, for example, of our neighbor Turkey. Look at the drone program of our neighbor Turkey. We opposite we need to have a reasonable answer to them. I’m not saying to enter into a competition who will be first. We want to defend ourselves, but to be able to prevent it,” he said.
Responding to a related question, Mr. Dendias said that technologies and capabilities were found in the ODA that, if developed, will surprise us all, but he added that there was a complete lack of connection with the Greek armed forces and the defense ecosystem.
He described the Constellation program, which we are co-designing with the USA, as a huge opportunity, which provides for the production of frigates in Greek shipyards and service for ships in the Mediterranean, the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean. “So, we are talking about a job that will take 60-70 years in our shipyards”, he added
Finally, when asked about Central Macedonia, for which the prime minister appointed him coordinator, he underlined that “there is a current of populism, which mainly comes from the right, and which threatens all the parties that follow the path of European integration “.
“We’ve got to put up a fight here to turn this around, poll-wise, it makes no sense to tell you, but I’ve seen the numbers, you’ve seen them, we’ve got to try a little bit. I wouldn’t be here otherwise. Well, I hope, I always hope for the strength of the argument. I understand that we are starting from a point that is not the best. I saw the Regional Governor before. I believe that we will do well . But it takes effort,” he emphasized.
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