Greece to spend 27bn on arms
Armed forces' satellite communications system, helicopters and frigates toparms list
ACHILLEAS TOPAS
GREECE will spend a staggering 26.7bn euros on arms over the next decade, and is showing no signs of significantly reducing the amount of weapons it buys despite repeated promises by governments in recent years.
On July 25, the Government Council for Foreign Affairs and Defence Council (KYSEA) approved the procurement of new weapons for Hellenic Armed Forces over the next decade. From 2006 up to 2010, Greece will spend 11.39bn euros on weapons, out of which 8.436bn euros will be spent for the settlement of earlier debts.
The following five-year period from 2011 up to 2015 will see Greece pay 15.1bn euros to bolster its defences. All of this will be spent on new weapons.
In all, 264 arms programmes will materialise by 2015. Twenty-one come under the jurisdiction of the Armed Forces General Staff, 60 of the General Army Staff, 94 of the Hellenic Navy and 89 of the airforce.
KYSEA also okayed a new structure for Greek armed forces and its administration, intended to enable them to become more flexible, Defence Minister Vangelis Meimarakis said.
According to defence ministry sources, the new structure is expected to increase the capacity for rapid reaction, enhance inter-branch cooperation and lower operational costs.
New weapons priorities include the purchase of an armed forces satellite communications system, worth 161m euros; the procurement of 20 new-generation transport helicopters, worth 807m euros; and the building of six new frigates for the navy, worth approximately 2.2bn euros. The purchase of fourth-generation jetfighters, by far the most expensive project - worth an estimated 3.2bn euros and widely regarded as the most important arms programme - only comes fourth on the list.
Other high-priority purchases are: 84 combat armoured vehicles, worth 430m euros; five navy cooperation aircraft, worth 250m euros; and the participation in the BOC-Helios partnership regarding the utilisation of satellite data which will cost 120m euros.
Admiral Panagiotis Chinofotis, head of Greece's armed forces, determined the order of priorities for all three branches of the military, a deviation from the method previously used to determine what weaponry the government would buy. Up to now, the three branches - army, navy and airforce - made individual requests for their arms needs and procurements based on their wishes. However, this time Chinofotis had the final say - and sometimes overruled the wishes of the military's branches.
For example, the purchase of 20 new-generation transport helicopters lay 125th on the priorities list of the Hellenic Army. Chinofotis thought otherwise and swiftly decided the new helicopters were essential for the Hellenic Armed Forces.
A few days prior to the approval of the ten-year plan, Meimarakis also took the unusual step of briefing the parliamentary Committee for Foreign Affairs and Defence regarding the huge proposed expenditure on weapons at a time when the Greek state is pressed for money. He outlined that the main priority is to purchase complete weapon systems and that the Turkish threat remains as vivid as ever.
Still, Meimarakis said the New Democracy government was trying hard to fulfil its pre-election commitment to dramatically reduce the amount spent on arms. He pointed out that the expenditure on weapons over the next decade will be less than 3 percent of the gross national product. The goal for the years to come is for that amount to be further reduced to 1 percent of the GNP.
The defence minister also hinted that the most lucrative arms programme, the purchase of the fourth-generation jetfighter, will come to fruition after 2008 and not sooner, as had been widely believed for some time now.
According to defence sources, the Eurofighter Typhoon, produced by the EADS partnership, remains the favourite option even though it faces stiff competition from both the French Rafale and the American F-16 Block 60. Importantly, the decision taken by the previous KYSEA in 2000 to purchase 90 Eurofighter aircraft when Pasok was in power has not been cancelled.
The last two governments have repeatedly claimed that a cut in weapons' costs was imminent. What has become clear, though, is that Greece is still spending big on arms - with no sign of cutting down.
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