On Monday, 1 April 2024, the Minister of National Defence, Nikos Dendias, accompanied by the Deputy Minister of National Defence Mr. Ioannis Kefalogiannis, the Chief of Hellenic National Defence General Staff, General Dimitrios Choupis, and the General Secretary of the Ministry of National Defence, Antonios Ikonomou, visited the General Directorate for Defence Investments and Armaments, and the General Directorate of National Defence Policy and Foreign Affairs, at Camp “Fakinos” in Goudi, Attica.
During his visit to the General Directorate for Defence Investments and Armaments, Mr. Dendias was briefed by the Director General, Vice Admiral Aristidis Alexopoulos (ret.), and the competent Directors on matters of defence projects, contracts, and procurement of defence materiel, as well as on defence investment matters, in the framework of the “2030 Agenda”. He was also briefed on the matter of technological research and the ways in which they can be linked to the Hellenic Innovation Development Centre, at the Ministry of National Defence, which is currently being created.
Following his briefing, the Minister of National Defence stated:
“I visited the General Directorate for Defence Investments and Armaments today. As you know, its role is crucial as we march towards the implementation of the “2030 Agenda”. The agenda, which as Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis characteristically stated in the Cabinet, is the greatest reform ever undertaken in the Hellenic Armed Forces.
This Agenda, initially, predicts that by 2030 the Air Force will have at its disposal 200 modern 4.5 and 5th Generation Aircraft, with a gradual decommissioning of 3rd and 4th Generation Aircraft.
In the meanwhile, it makes provision for the modernisation of our fleet. The program for acquiring the new FDI frigates is already in progress. The possibility of our country designing and constructing the new, Constellation type frigates here in Greece is being examined, as are the best possible solutions for the mean-time.
Also, we are moving in the direction of creating a defence innovation ecosystem, utilising the Hellenic Innovation Development Centre, which we are creating with a new bill which will be passed by the Hellenic Parliament in the following days.
We want to alter the reality of “purchasing foreign weapons over the counter” as it currently exists. We want to reinforce our local defence industry and produce advanced force multipliers.
I am referring to drones, anti-drones, weapons which will create an anti-aircraft dome above our country, in independently moving vehicles and craft, both surface and underwater.
We are trying to create a new reality for the Hellenic Armed Forces, and I am absolutely convinced that in this task, in this goal, we have the backing of the whole of our political system, and mainly, of Hellenic society.”
Subsequently, the Minister of National Defence visited the General Directorate of National Defence Policy and Foreign Affairs, where he was briefed by the Director General, Ambassador Emeritus Michail Spinellis, and the competent Directors concerning the implementation of National Defence Policy, international relations, and defence cooperation agreements, as well as matters related to international organisations which fall under the responsibility of the Ministry of National Defence.
