Greece approves its biggest naval modernisation in 20 years
Greece
Sat, 26 Feb 2022 8:49 GMT
After Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Greeks are worried that another war may be drawing close in the Aegean.Greek opposition parties have joined the government in approving the country’s biggest naval modernisation in 20 years.Over the next...
After Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Greeks are worried that another war may be drawing close in the Aegean.
Greek opposition parties have joined the government in approving the country’s biggest naval modernisation in 20 years.
Over the next four years, Greece will spend 2.26bn euros ($2.53bn) buying three Belharra frigates built by France’s Naval Group, considered state of the art in the Western arsenal.
Over the next year, Greece is expected to increase the order to four frigates and four corvettes to accompany them.
While the world’s attention is focused on the full-scale Russian invasion in Ukraine, the Greeks are worried that another war may be drawing close in the Aegean.
The Belharra carry weaponry a generation ahead of anything currently fielded in the Aegean.
The Aster 30 surface-to-air missile with a range of more than 120 kilometres (74 miles) – three times the range of existing anti-air missiles in the Greek and Turkish arsenals, and far more accurate – is designed to create an umbrella of air superiority 25,000 square kilometres (nearly 10,000 square miles) around each ship.
The Belharra will also carry the latest version of the Exocet, a 200km-range (124-mile) cruise anti-ship missile, and strong anti-submarine capabilities.
The Belharra and jets will be linked in real time, sharing targeting systems and radar intelligence.
A difficult choice
Greece has been mulling for years over replacements for its existing fleet of 13 frigates, between 30 and 40 years old.
It was hamstrung by bankruptcy in 2010, followed by years of austerity, which halved its defence budget to $4.6bn by 2014.
The budget has inched up since then, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.
In 2020, Greece spent $5.3bn on defence.
Source: Aljazeera
Greek opposition parties have joined the government in approving the country’s biggest naval modernisation in 20 years.
Over the next four years, Greece will spend 2.26bn euros ($2.53bn) buying three Belharra frigates built by France’s Naval Group, considered state of the art in the Western arsenal.
Over the next year, Greece is expected to increase the order to four frigates and four corvettes to accompany them.
While the world’s attention is focused on the full-scale Russian invasion in Ukraine, the Greeks are worried that another war may be drawing close in the Aegean.
The Belharra carry weaponry a generation ahead of anything currently fielded in the Aegean.
The Aster 30 surface-to-air missile with a range of more than 120 kilometres (74 miles) – three times the range of existing anti-air missiles in the Greek and Turkish arsenals, and far more accurate – is designed to create an umbrella of air superiority 25,000 square kilometres (nearly 10,000 square miles) around each ship.
The Belharra will also carry the latest version of the Exocet, a 200km-range (124-mile) cruise anti-ship missile, and strong anti-submarine capabilities.
The Belharra and jets will be linked in real time, sharing targeting systems and radar intelligence.
A difficult choice
Greece has been mulling for years over replacements for its existing fleet of 13 frigates, between 30 and 40 years old.
It was hamstrung by bankruptcy in 2010, followed by years of austerity, which halved its defence budget to $4.6bn by 2014.
The budget has inched up since then, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.
In 2020, Greece spent $5.3bn on defence.
Source: Aljazeera
