Presented a new deterrence doctrine for the Aegean<\/b> with missile systems, drones<\/b> and satellite capabilities as part of the overall upgrade<\/b> of the Armed Forces<\/b>.<\/p>\n
In a period of intense geopolitical upheavals<\/b> and increased security challenges in the maritime region of the Eastern Mediterranean<\/b>, the Greek government <\/b>is moving forward with a radical review of its defence doctrine<\/b>, with an emphasis on technological superiority and deterrent power<\/b>. The Minister of National Defence Nikos Dendias<\/b> presented a new, multi-level<\/b> operational model for the protection of the Aegean<\/b>, based on the utilisation of missile systems, unmanned means and satellite infrastructure<\/b>, marking the transition to a modern defence architecture<\/b>. This approach is part of the broader context of the transformation of the Armed Forces<\/b>, aiming to enhance agility, operational readiness<\/b> and strategic deterrence<\/b> in an environment where threats are no longer confined to the sea<\/b> or the air, but extend into cyberspace and space<\/b>.<\/p>\n
“We will protect the Aegean much better than we have done so far<\/b>, but we will do it in a much more complex way<\/b>“, Minister of National Defence Nikos Dendias<\/b> said yesterday (28\/4) at the 3rd International Conference on Maritime Security, which took place at the Eugenides Foundation<\/b>.<\/p>\nThe Rationale<\/h3>\n
In particular, Dendias explained that “we will do it with missiles. We will do it with drones. We will also do it with smaller vessels on the surface of the sea, but also with drones below the surface. So we will ensure the security of the Aegean in a much more cost-effective way than in the past, and we will ensure our larger platforms freedom of movement and freedom of deterrence.”<\/p>\n
“KIMON is but the visible tip of the iceberg. This iceberg is the Agenda 2030 and the Greek Armed Forces. And when someone asks me what we are changing, my answer is very simple and very short. We are changing everything, except our values,” he said.<\/p>\n
In addition, Dendias made it clear that “Greece is not and must not become ‘Turk-centric’. Turkey is not our main problem and should not be our main problem. We just need to be capable enough to prevent any threat from our neighbour.”<\/p>\n
The conference, entitled “Maritime Security in an Era of Geopolitical, Geoeconomic and Technological Disruption”, is organized by the Council for International Relations, the International Propeller Club (Port of Piraeus), S4GEO (The Society for Geopolitics) and the Institute of Foreign Affairs, in cooperation with the School of Shipping and Industry of the University of Piraeus and the Institute of International Relations (IDIS) of Panteion University.<\/p>\n
In attendance were the representative of the Chief of Naval Education, the Commander of Naval Education Command (NEC), Rear Admiral Stefanos Sarris PN, representatives of the maritime, business and academic community, as well as international organizations.<\/p>\n
“Thank you very much for this very kind presentation.<\/p>\n
Elect guests, I will spare you from reading a meticulously prepared speech, as I believe that I came here to speak, not to read. So let me present my view on the way the Greek Armed Forces and the Greek government are dealing with the current security environment, the current maritime security environment. I understand clearly and of course it is completely expected that the Conference has focused mainly on what is happening in Hormuz, which is indeed – I fully agree – a huge challenge for maritime security, for the global economy. The Conference on this issue, maritime security, underlines the enormous challenge that we face.<\/p>\n
But first let’s look at where we are exactly. If we look at it with Greek eyes, from the Greek perspective, in terms of the new realities, I would like to start with something less obvious that we are not talking about, but it is there and it is changing a lot. And I am referring to the northern route, the northern sea corridor, which is changing a lot, but also the security challenges that we will face in the coming years.<\/p>\n
I will not elaborate further on this issue, but please keep it in mind. And I must say that there are courageous and far-sighted Greek seafarers who are already using the Northern Corridor. But this Northern Corridor changes the security architecture that we have to provide. The security of the seas. And of course, the Black Sea, the challenges in the Black Sea still exist. The Black Sea is used, but we cannot call it safe. I am sure you have spoken at length about the Strait of Hormuz. I will not go specifically into the Strait of Hormuz, but it is not, of course, the only bottleneck. Baba Al-Mandar is a few hundred miles to the east, and every year the Houthis tell us they will close it again.<\/p>\n
And finally, perhaps we should be grateful that the Strait of Malacca remains open, because its very existence has challenged the very essence of freedom of navigation. We never thought, I don’t think anyone, except the war analysts in Iran, ever thought that the day would come when the Strait of Hormuz would be closed completely. As if that were not enough, the challenges we face in the modern marine environment are not just on the surface. They extend beneath it, to critical undersea energy and communications infrastructure. And we need to protect these as well.<\/p>\n
So, in this environment, we, Greece, have to make choices. We look no further than our own feet. We are a small country, medium-sized. Of course, we are also the country that has the largest merchant fleet in the world, that relies on open lines of communication, and that doesn’t just affect the numbers or the statistics. I always point out the impact on the daily lives of Greeks and European citizens. Inflation is “killing” the economy and it is particularly affecting the poorest among us.<\/p>\n
Freedom of navigation, then, is not an abstract concept, it is not something that only concerns international law experts, lawyers, shipowners or naval officers. It concerns all of us, each and every one of us. So for Greece, these are the international challenges, and I must tell you that I am not forgetting a challenge that is closer to us, closer to home, because we still have a neighbour that interprets the International Law of the Sea in a rather peculiar way.<\/p>\n
For example, our dear friends in neighbouring Turkey openly claim that the islands have no right to a continental shelf. That islands, regardless of their size – Crete, for example – are not part of the Exclusive Economic Zones, that the Aegean islands are on the Asian continental shelf. These allegations are presented seriously in international forums, although I must tell you that if a first-year university student taking a course in international law, for example, were to write something like this, he would either fail his exams miserably or his fellow students would laugh until they were in tears. But, again, we have to address this kind of post in serious forums around the world.<\/p>\n
Now, what do we do? First, on legal issues, Greece has always proclaimed that UNCLOS, the International Convention on the Law of the Sea, is “holy gospel” to us and should be “holy gospel” to the whole world. For me, it should be ‘holy gospel’ for all the states of the world. Regardless of whether or not they have signed UNDRIP, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, as most countries in the world have done, there are countries that fully accept UNDRIP even though they have not signed it, such as the United States of America.<\/p>\n
The truth of course is that the United States has signed the treaty, but it has not been ratified by Congress. However, this is on the legal level. We need to be more practical. So, I will tell you what we are doing. We are going through a radical restructuring so that we are in a position to meet the challenges.<\/p>\n
Mr. President, he was kind enough to mention our new frigate, KIMONA, which is (his picture) right behind me. However, “KIMON” is but the visible tip of the iceberg. This iceberg is the “Agenda 2030” and the Greek Armed Forces. And when someone asks me what we are changing, my answer is very simple and very short. We are changing everything except our values.<\/p>\n
We are changing the way the Greek Navy operates. We are changing the means of the Greek Navy. Let me give you an example. As you may know, we are procuring four frigates from Groupe Navale, French frigates, the FDI, Fr\u00e9gates d’Intervention. These frigates are not just a more modern variant of the MEKO class or other frigates that we already have.<\/p>\n
They are a different kind of ship. They are something different. And why is that? Because these four frigates belong to a class that, let me tell you, is not the kind of frigate that the French Navy uses. The French use Standard 2 frigates.<\/p>\n
We will use Standard 2+++. Just 3 days ago I had the opportunity to explain to President Macron the changes we have made, and he was quite impressed. And I believe that the French will upgrade their FDIs to “+++”. The “+++” class is capable of carrying 32 strategic missiles, as opposed to the 12 anti-aircraft missiles of the French frigates.<\/p>\n
And this will be the capability of the new Bergamini class frigates, which we are going to get from Italy.<\/p>\n
Friggers 10 years old, big ships, even bigger than the FDIs, over 6,000 tons, capable of operating on the high seas. I repeat, frigates capable of carrying strategic missiles. And this will be our deterrent, but also our ability to engage in operations that ensure freedom at sea.<\/p>\n
Of course, the obvious question I get asked is: what about the Aegean; the most important one for Greece? My answer is very simple. Of course, we will protect the Aegean. We will protect the Aegean much better than we have done so far, but we will do it in a much more complex way. We will do it with missiles. We will do it with drones. We will also do it with smaller vessels on the surface of the sea, but also with drones below the surface. So we will ensure the security of the Aegean in a much more cost-effective way than in the past, and we will ensure our larger platforms have freedom of movement and freedom of deterrence.<\/p>\n
Because, as we have known so far, the scenario we have been facing is that somebody “comes in,” as we have been told, and takes over a small island. And then Greece is called upon to decide: “What are we going to do? Do we declare a full-scale war? Do we invade Eastern Thrace? Do we conduct a small operation to retake something that will be extremely difficult? What are we going to do? What is the dilemma? And in such a scenario, the aggressor has the advantage.”<\/p>\n
Well, in a future case, the potential aggressor should keep in mind that we have the capability and we will have the ability to respond with a significant number of strategic missiles from platforms that will be distributed, not only in the Aegean, but also in the Eastern Mediterranean and wherever we think it will be useful, while the platforms will be protected. And these same platforms will be able to be in the Red Sea, if required, where the frigates HYDRA, PSARA and SPETS operated with tremendous success last month in Operation SHIP.<\/p>\n
By the way, Operation ASPIDES has a Greek name, because Greece has argued from the outset that the European Union should have an operation to protect the Red Sea and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. And it is no credit to the European Union that the countries that have consistently participated in the operation are Greece, Italy and, at times, the Netherlands and Germany. When it comes to geopolitical perspective. And Ursula von der Leyen was talking about the geopolitical commission. If we want to be taken seriously, we have to do much more than that, as Europe. But that is another story. Now, I want to make it clear to you. Greece is not and should not become “Turk-centric”. Turkey is not our main problem and should not be our main problem. We just have to be capable enough to prevent any threat coming from our neighbor.<\/p>\n
Greece should have, should have, a 360-degree approach. And please remember that out of those 360 degrees, more than 220, 230 degrees, if you look at our geography, faces the sea, from the North Aegean to the South Adriatic Sea. So the way in which we operate in a marine environment and the way in which we can operate in a marine environment is of paramount importance. In addition to the platforms that I have mentioned, there are many other elements that I would take hours to explain to you.<\/p>\n
Also, we are investing in people – in our human resources. We have improved NATO’s Maritime Deterrence Training Center, which trains the best personnel to operate in the maritime environment, the best special forces the world has ever seen, to be able to protect our interests in the maritime environment. And as its name suggests, it is not just for Greece, but for the whole of NATO. So NATO’s best are coming to train with us.<\/p>\n
But again, that’s not enough. Things have changed, and radically so. And you have to have a presence at sea, of course, just as you have to have a presence in the air, and you have to have a presence on land. But that’s not enough anymore. The world has changed.<\/p>\n
So, as part of Agenda 2030, which I’ve been supporting since 2023 – the first day I went to the Department of Defense – we launched an initiative that we call the Achilles Shield. Why do I call it Achilles’ Shield? Because it is the second Shield of Achilles – I mean, that of the Greek hero, as we remember from the Trojan War. In that war, when Patroclus was killed, Hector took all the weapons. So Achilles had to beg his mother to make new weapons.<\/p>\n
Among them was this famous shield. This shield has 5 layers. Professor Hajiemmanuel was kind enough to remind me of the 5 circles I spoke about in my previous speech. I seem to have a special relationship with the number 5. These 5 layers of the Shield of Achilles symbolize the sea, the earth, the air, but also cyberspace and space.<\/p>\n
And up until now – until 24 months ago – we had no real capability on these two levels. That is why we are working hard on both. I will not talk about cyberspace, although that would be extremely interesting, but I would like you to know that this is the first time in our history that Greece already has two mini-satellites in space, two photographic mini-satellites, and we are going to move on to create a whole system in the next few years. We will reach 13 or 14. So, thanks to these mini satellites, we can have photographs available to our own forces for analysis in a very short time.<\/p>\n
And we don’t have to depend on others to provide us with information that is extremely important. And of course, the areas we were talking about are included in the area that these satellites can photograph. But also, we are planning and we will have the first communications satellite that will be owned by Greece. Because in the modern world, if you don’t have communication, you have nothing. And without a satellite, in the modern environment, you cannot ensure your communication.<\/p>\n
So, in short, we are moving from a traditional environment that includes a number of frigates and other ships, to a completely different environment in which unmanned vessels, modern platforms, satellites and human resources, in the context of a holistic approach called the Achilles Shield and using modern communications equipment, will be able to guarantee, on behalf of the Hellenic Republic, maritime security in the areas where we have a vital interest.<\/p>\n
Thank you very much.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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