Dendias: Change of doctrine in the Navy - With new units and advanced weapons and communication systems

This was emphasized, among others, by the Minister of National Defense Nikos Dendias, who attended yesterday, Monday, June 30, as a representative of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, at the inspection of the Fleet by the President of the Republic, Konstantinos Tasoulas, whom he welcomed at Akti Miaouli in the port of Piraeus and accompanied at sea, on the frigate "Spetsai", in the Saronic Gulf.

"It reflects a change of doctrine, a new deterrent national strategy. New units, advanced weapons and communication systems, but now also artificial intelligence and the integration of innovation, all of this is part of the holistic approach that we have called Achilles' Shield", the minister noted.

Dendias' report on the new Belharra frigates

The "Achilles' Shield" liberates, he said, "the modern weapons systems of the Navy, from the narrow limits of a territorial defense. It transforms them with their new capabilities into strategic weapons of deterrence" he added while referring to the new Belharra frigates and the strategic weapons and anti-aircraft defense of the area they possess.

Furthermore, he explained that Greece is negotiating the new Italian frigates “to replace the older non-modernized S-type frigates” while he pointed out that “the modernization of the MEKO frigates by our Navy itself” is progressing, as well as the modernization of “the Roussin vessels, the modernization of the type 214 submarines which have also acquired new torpedoes, new fast patrol boats, new support ships, new Seahawk helicopters, new vertical take-off drones, the Centaurus anti-drones, new operational interconnection, command and control systems”.

“Also”, he continued, “we are starting a process that will bring us unmanned sea vessels on and under the sea”.

“But”, he underlined, “we are also looking to the future. Participation in the design of the new Constellation frigate, participation in the design of the Eurocorvette, the design of a Greek ship for the first time, which the Navy will share with the Coast Guard”.

“And all this with an institutionalized participation of the Greek Defense Industry at a rate of 25%” he clarified.

“We are also starting”, he said, “the discussion on the acquisition of new submarines. In the next decade of course. Submarines are not produced quickly. And all this in a new institutionalized framework within the existing fiscal space that guarantees respect, absolute respect for the deficit of the Greek taxpayer. Every euro must be spent with absolute transparency”.

"All of the above leads to a Navy ten times more powerful than anything Hellenism has known to date," he emphasized and explained: "And I do not use the number without an absolute measurement of the object."

"This would not be possible without the human factor, the women and men of the Navy, for whom a very great effort has been made to improve their financial earnings," the Minister of National Defense clarified.

"Either as cadets at the Naval Cadet School or later with the successive increases, the last of which will take place, as the Prime Minister has reiterated, on October 1, 2025.

This leads to an effort to improve the quality of life of them and their families," he added.

Regarding the Naval Week and the Fleet inspection, he said that it “constitutes an element of the timeless naval tradition of the Nation” and “highlights the timeless relationship of Greece, the Greek people, society, with the sea”.

“Naval Week is precisely the point in time at which we must reflect on the enormous role of the Hellenic Navy, the New Hellenic Navy, in the 21st century. The great potential it has and the enormous service it offers to the homeland, defending our sovereignty and sovereign rights within the framework of the holistic approach that the “Agenda 2030” requires”, analyzed Mr. Dendias.

Finally, he congratulated the women and men of the Navy “for their exceptional presence during the inspection of the Fleet by the President of the Republic”.