The cost of acquiring two domes for the defense of the country, one anti-aircraft and one anti-drone, amounted to 2 billion euros. This is what the Minister of National Defense, Nikos Dendias, said, speaking in the OT studio at Beyond 2024, pointing 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.
He declared himself extremely optimistic that the country will be able to succeed, citing as indicative the figures according to which 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.”
As he pointed out: “We buy things to be able to maintain our independence, our territorial ownership. And in order to do this we must be at least in a phase where we can respond to the challenges of our environment”. Against Turkey’s equipment “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 to be able to have a deterrent option”, explained Mr. Dendias.
“Israel was made from scratch”
As to why the country is behind in the production of defense equipment, the Minister of National Defense said characteristically: “There was a logic of ‘I buy off the shelf’, the crisis fell on that and then the thing happened neither I buy off the shelf, nor produce”.
According to him, there is the ecosystem. “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: necessity.”
Furthermore, Mr. Dendias said that ELKAK (Hellenic Center for Defense Innovation) will ask the ecosystem of defense industries for solutions for the recorded needs of the armed forces. If the solutions offered are approved by the armed forces, then a prototype will be asked to be built which will be tested in real conditions and if it meets the order will be placed.
The requested areas are drones, anti-drones, anti-aircraft, anti-aircraft canopy, autonomously moving at sea, autonomously moving under the sea, autonomously moving on land, systems, sound or laser, tank protection systems.
Responding to a related question, Mr. Dendias said that the effort at ODA is very big. “Technologies and capabilities were found within 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.
In relation to the shipyards, he underlined the fact that Greece is entering as a co-producer in the US new generation “Constellation” class frigates program.
Source: ot.gr
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