More upgrades foreseen for Souda Bay

A fund of 190 million euros for the upgrade and expansion of the naval base at Souda Bay on Crete is included in the armament program presented on Wednesday by Defense Minister Nikos Panagiotopoulos to the relevant parliamentary committee. 

The aim is to gradually transform the port into a permanent base for part of the Hellenic Navy in order to facilitate faster and more direct access to the Eastern Mediterranean. 

The work carried out in recent years has been indirectly supported by the United States, through surplus material and budget that was sometimes left over from the upgrade of the nearby US facilities at Marathi.

The fund for Souda is part of a series of very important programs and subprograms presented to the Parliament committee that seek to strengthen the deterrent capabilities of the Hellenic Armed Forces (ED) to the tune of approximately 800 million euros.

Parliament on Wednesday was also presented with the 160 million euros in support of the S-70 Aegean Hawk helicopters of the Hellenic Navy, which remain the main tool of anti-submarine warfare on the frigates, despite the arrival of the new MH-60R Seahawks. 

Expenditure of 900 million euros is also foreseen for the modernization of the RM-70 multiple rocket launchers, while a similar budget will be used for the upgrade of the 122mm rocket launchers. 

Moreover, a total of 150 million euros will be spent on the supply of 30,000 120mm missiles for the needs of the main Leopard 2 tanks of the Army. 

The committee also approved the supply of new Hellfire missiles (AGM-114R) for Apache helicopters with laser guidance systems, with a total budget of 20 million.

Relevant programs will also be brought before the committee regarding the dispatch of three C-130s to Israel for maintenance and their return to flight status, but also the upgrade of 38 Block 50 F-16s of the Air Force.