US military assistance to Greece, part of the so-called Blinken package, has hit a roadblock, as reported on Monday, with the Hellenic Armed Forces refusing to accept most of the offered weapon systems from US stockpiles due to high refurbishment costs.
Europe needs a stable leadership in a world full of insecurities, European Commission Vice-President Margaritis Schinas said at a conference on the island of Nisyros Saturday.
The homegrown Centaur anti-drone system, installed on the Psara frigate and developed by the Hellenic Aerospace Industry (EAV), proved its worth on Sunday by playing a key role in downing two Houthi drones targeting a commercial ship.
The Greek frigate Psara thwarted a Houthi drone attack on Sunday morning against a commercial ship in the Gulf of Aden.
Athens and Riga agree that European defense spending should be exempt from fiscal rules, Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics told Kathimerini in an interview ahead of his two-day visit to Athens on Wednesday, where he met with political and state officials. Rinkevics furthermore said that regardless of who wins the upcoming presidential elections in the United States, Europe will need “to be more serious about its own defense and security.”
Defense Minister Nikos Dendias (right) and the high representative of the EU for foreign policy and security policy, Josep Borrell, make statements during their visit to the Greek headquarters of the European Operation Aspides in Larissa on Friday.
The European Investment Bank is considering funding the Greek defense industry.
Two bills ratifying two military agreements between Greece and Saudi Arabia were approved in Parliament on Wednesday evening by ruling New Democracy, main opposition SYRIZA, and PASOK.
Lockheed Martin and the Hellenic Aerospace Industry (EAV) have delivered the 20th upgraded F-16 Viper fighter jet to the Hellenic Air Force, the American company announced on Wednesday.
A survey of people in 13 of the nations belonging to NATO found a median of about 6 in 10 held a favorable view of the Western military alliance, the Pew Research Center said Tuesday.
A pilot abandoned a Dassault Mirage 2000-5 fighter jet as it was taxiing at the runway of the 114 Combat Wing in Tanagra on Monday afternoon, the Air Force said in a press release.
Defense Minister Nikos Dendias briefed a Parliament committee on Thursday about two programs, whose potential implementation will contribute decisively to the modernization of the Hellenic Air Force and the Hellenic Navy – the acquisition of 20 fifth-generation F-35 fighters and Greece’s exploratory participation in the current design stage of the Constellation-type frigate being developed for the United States Navy.
Greece’s parliamentary armament committee approved four military procurement programs for the Air Force and Navy, following a briefing by Defense Minister Nikos Dendias.
Fighter jets were reportedly going to be conducting flights over the Greek capital between 9.30 a.m. and 11 a.m. on Wednesday.
The losses suffered by ruling New Democracy in the recent European Parliament elections were from “both sides,” Defense Minister Nikos Dendias tells Kathimerini, noting that while these losses were mostly concentrated in the center, the ones to the right were “not negligible” either.
The program to upgrade Greece’s F-16 Viper jets is reportedly at a tipping point, with well-informed sources saying it can either move ahead or go south.
