On Tuesday, 11 May 2021, the Minister of National Defence Mr Nikolaos Panagiotopoulos briefed the Standing National Defence and Foreign Affairs Committee on domestic Defence Industry issues.

In his first address, Mr Panagiotopoulos pointed out among other things:

• “The private part of the defence industry is not negligible and there is room for more active involvement on its behalf in the whole project”.

• “The basic goal of the Government was and still is the reinforcement of the domestic defence industry, so that it becomes productive, functional, competitive and dignified. No defence industry can survive on its own, if it cannot accomplish works through the involvement of third parties as well”.

• “Regarding the Hellenic Defence Industry, the basic issue is the F-16 upgrade to Viper version. The upgrade of the first has been completed and more will follow soon. The thing is that parallel projects should be initiated too, the upgrade of the Navy’s marine cooperation P3 “Orion” four aircraft and C-130 maintenance”.

• “ELVO’s liquidation started in 2014 and was completed a year ago. A few months back, following a competition, a company of Israeli interests took its control, having been settled, and tries to set up production lines in order to undertake works”.

• We will soon make a big decision for the addition of four frigates. All opposition parties justifiably advise to construct as many as possible, in Greek shipyards. I remind you that next year the last out of seven guided missile fast patrol boats will be delivered, which started being constructed by Greek shipyards in 2001. We cannot contemplate a respective construction project”.

• The arising dilemma is whether we assign the project exclusively to the shipyards of the country that will be chosen, whichever that is, or if we choose Greece, thus taking the risk of years passing by without us having any ships”.

• “We wish that the competitive procedure concerning Skaramaga is accelerated, so that the country acquires a shipyard, capable of undertaking the construction project of new frigates, in reasonable time, and the domestic defence industry is involved”.

• “As the Political Leadership of the Ministry of National Defence, we would not wish to not be involved ourselves, as well as the domestic defence industry enterprises in this big project, not only with regard to construction activity, but to others that could be involved as well. The ideal condition is to have at least one shipyard that can accomplish, in reasonable time, this outstanding job for the Navy”.

• “We did not abandon the workers of the shipyards and this is evident in the extensions that increased and still do the cost of the ships. Nevertheless, the shipyard workers’ life is assured, as well as the Navy’s interest”.

• “Regarding the Hellenic Defence Systems, the company’s viability must be ensured, as well as the outstanding job that will support the company’s future, meaning the “National Rifle” project. When the foreign company is chosen that will come to Greece and evolve under co-production terms (this is a basic prerequisite posed by the Ministry of National Defence and the Hellenic Defence Systems), it will ensure the next day of this company”.

• “Regarding the domestic defence industry, apart from the ambitious project under development the last two years, there are positive news with regard to Greece’s participation in the EU’s Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO) and the European Defence Fund (EDF). Greek companies participate in products’ development projects, having as a result the industry’s development and the enlargement of outreach”.

In his second address, the Minister of National Defence pointed out:

• “In the preceding discussion and in others as well, some people invoke things that are written and not said. The Navy still examines proposals. It has not closed all files yet, since not all proposals have been respectively submitted for the so called “Interim Solution”, so that the final evaluation phase can begin”.

• “Regarding the “National Rifle”, we have asked for it to take place under co-production terms in Greece, so that there are respective benefits with regard to the domestic defence industry”.

• “You invoke what is written, because we do not talk much. We do not talk much, because we have chosen to work a lot. Talking much, as I can protest, impedes working a lot. Also, if the feeling that a lot of actions have been taken in the Ministry of National Defence in the last two years is not enjoyed by some of the Parliament members of the Opposition, for reasons of political pettiness, at least it is enjoyed by a big part of the Greek society, that trusts the Political and Military Leadership and the job done, to cover a lot of lost ground from the past”.

• “You do not love the Defence Industry through theoretical manifests, like the “National Industrial Strategy”. Industrial strategy is good, but in July 2019 the Hellenic Defence Systems could not afford to pay current wages and we had to do a lot to make it happen. We had to hasten part payments, to freeze penal clauses, to take actions in order to pay the July wages; I wonder how this applies to any “National Defence Strategy” and making of theories.

• “The defence industry cannot be reset through a soviet type central planning. You know why shipyards were disdained; the role that was played and who controlled the syndicates leading to the ship-owners leaving or the orders being disdained as well. All of the above forced the shipyards to expect the remnants of the Navy’s projects”.

• “We did not come to the country yesterday. We know the role of everyone, governments and oppositions, as well as syndicates that were historically controlled by the oppositions, especially oppositions of the Left Party. You all became moralists of the effort that is made. Every time this Party was elected, it assumed the responsibility to at least make the defence industry and the Armed Forces bounce back, under the rule of the national interest, not the opposition”.

• “Admit that an effort has been made at last! Admit that the “Rafale” were delivered at a world speed breaking record since the start of negotiations. Despite having to deal with a globally unique construction company, this French company, there was a provision clause for future involvement of the domestic defence industry, when we initiate the support procedure”.

• “Kalamata is not a scandal Mr Vitsas. The scandal is that at the end of 2022, if we had not chosen the solution of Kalamata, the Air Force-an Air Force of world class and quality-would not possess training aircraft, nor propelled aircraft or jets. So, do not tell me that we could have done it ourselves, based on some drafted study which nobody ever saw”.