Greece to spend 25bn euros in drastic defence overhaul

ATHENS: Greece will spend 25 billion euros ($27 billion) through to 2036 in the “most drastic” defence overhaul in its modern history, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Wednesday.

The drive, which includes a new anti-missile, anti-aircraft and anti-drone defensive dome called “Achilles´s Shield”, is aimed at addressing rapidly changing geopolitical challenges and fraying transatlantic ties, Mitsotakis said.

“The plan involves the most drastic transformation of the armed forces in the country´s modern history,” Mitsotakis told parliament.

“The world is changing at an unforeseeable pace.”

Greece has traditionally invested at least two percent of gross domestic product on its defence -- NATO´s spending target -- owing to decades of tension with regional rivals Turkey.

But the new initiative is also designed to make the country of 10.5 million people “a key branch” of the European Union´s defence mechanism, contributing one of the bloc´s “most advanced” armies, Mitsotakis said.

This year, the nation´s plans to spend 6.13 billion euros on defence.

Defence Minister Nikos Dendias said there would be a “full change of dogma” in which a “complex... cheaper... multiple missile system” would defend Greek territory.

“We have opposite us an existing, stated threat ten times that of our capability,” he told lawmakers, referring to Turkey.

Alongside Poland, Estonia and Latvia, Greece is now one of the few NATO member states that allocates more than three percent of output to defence.

“Historically, Greece has served and will continue to serve as an outpost for Europe, which is currently seeking to reorganise its defence in a difficult international setting,” said Maria Gavouneli, a professor of international law at the University of Athens.

Greek media reports suggest Athens is in negotiations with Israel to acquire the defensive dome, which also includes enhancing anti-drone systems.

France, Italy and Norway have been also cited as possible suppliers of the new weapons, which include unmanned vessels (USVs), drones and radars.

Greece has sought to strengthen its position on the EU´s Eastern Mediterranean border, close to the conflict zones of the Middle East.

A dutiful buyer of European military equipment, especially from France and Germany, Greece has always justified its arms spending by pointing to territorial disputes and threats from historic rival Turkey. “This reorganisation was necessary for Greece because during the economic crisis of the last decade and the freeze on public spending, the country fell behind in terms of modernising (its arsenal),” said Gavouneli, who is also the director general of the Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy think-tank.

Greece has signed a military cooperation agreement with France, ordering 24 Rafale fighter jets and three Belharra-class defence and intervention frigates (FDI) for a total of more than 5.5 billion euros.