The Alternate Minister of National Defence Dimitris Vitsas attended the inauguration of the project of modernization and upgrade of maritime patrol aircraft P-3 ORION which was held at the premises of the Hellenic Aerospace Industry, Tanagra. In his address, he stated, among other things:
“I am greatly pleased to visit the Hellenic Aerospace Industry which is the spearhead of our defence industry with its excellently trained personnel and with its high quality operational premises.
Today we declare the beginning of the works for the modernisation of maritime patrol aircraft P-3 ORION. This was an old determinative operational demand of the Hellenic Navy in order to deal with the continuous challenges on the Aegean Sea.
The modernization of these aircraft and their future operational activation, along with the submarines and the modernization of vessels of the Hellenic Navy and with the completion of the project regarding the missile boats, will increase the combat force of the Hellenic Navy and the Armed Forces and will augment its force not only over the area of the Aegean Sea, but over South-eastern Mediterranean as well, which is a space of great important for Greece.
Greece possesses a strong defence system and reliable Armed Forces which guarantee stability and deterrence force. Greece and Greek people, at dire financial times, invest in peace and not in war, through the powerful Armed Forces, their combat power and their deterrence capabilities. We are steadily oriented towards the principles of dialogue and peaceful solution of every arising problem. Yet we are determined – and whoever covets our country should take these wards seriously – to resist to any challenge and threat against our territorial integrity and national independence.
Our government’s intention is to reinforce the Armed Forces, augmenting the sustainability of our entire defence industry in the long term. We want our defence industry to operate as a tool to demonstrate a powerful Greece with its own opinion and attitude on regional and international facts.
We are happy that a very good cooperation with the USA and their defence industry is continued. At the same time, we must notice that we are going through a different period for Greece’s defence industry. The defence industries in Greece, state or private ones cannot be competitive against each other, they must, mainly, be cooperative and the Hellenic Aerospace Industry must play the role of the leader of this effort. The Hellenic Aerospace Industry and the Hellenic Defence Systems are our main weapons for the modernization of the defence industry and its participation in a new productive model, as well as for the increase of power not only within the Armed Forces, but in the field of knowledge and technology as well.
Last May, a very important meeting took place for the first time in the Ministry of National Defence, during which we considered all the problems that regard the Hellenic Aerospace Industry and we tried to find solutions. The results of this meeting started to become obvious. The first steps have been already taken. New employees too are admitted in the Hellenic Aerospace Industry, but, at the same time, we try to provide them the possibility of self-financed new employment posts. We are also trying to solve problems so that our people do not leave abroad. I refer not only to young scientists from all over Greece who leave the country, but to current employees of the Hellenic Aerospace Industry as well. We are trying to keep them here happy and able to offer the maximum of their expertise and capabilities for the development of our defence industry.
The Ministry of National Defence continues to support the Hellenic Aerospace Industry and enable it to respond to the challenges of our time; to the challenges of growth, new production, and cooperation.
It will be to everyone’s benefit if the Hellenic Aerospace Industry is modern, capable of implementing significant projects of the Ministry of National Defence, such as the operationally required modernization of P-3. It should also be an equal partner in international industrial cooperations. Mr. Plessas stressed – and I would like to stress this too – that it is very important and perhaps pioneer that more than the 30 % of this programme will be implemented by Greek defence industries. I wish we had this possibility, but, definitely, we will try to have everything we may need to achieve this goal, or even higher percentages. We have the expertise, we have the manpower, and we have the will to do it.
Today, with this event, we are sending a message of respect and acknowledgement to our Hellenic Navy which will be reinforced not only operationally, but strategically as well with the maritime patrol aircraft P-3 ORION. The Hellenic Navy, devoted to its duty, defending our national independence and our country’s integrity, along with the other branches of our Armed Forces, is always guarding our country.
I would like therefore, representing the Greek state and government, to assure you that we all can feel proud, we all want to use our creative skills as sooner as possible; we all want to work even harder and better. I wish to assure our partners from every country that we are present and we can respond. I would like to assure our “friends” from every country that they must think of Greece as a country of stability, as a stable country. In this spirit, we feel confident of our land’s future.”
