Greek Defense Minister Nikos Dendias emphatically stated on Friday that it is not possible at the moment for the Hellenic Aerospace Industry (HAI) to leave state control, saying, indicatively, that “without the HAI we cannot live.”
He noted in particular that the Hellenic Air Force has paid a total of 120 million euros for projects that were not implemented or whose completion has been delayed.
Therefore, the process of finding a strategic investor is obviously moving to a second, future phase.
With regard to Greek Defense Systems (EAS), Dendias noted that attention will turn there after HAI. The defense minister recalled that EAS was declared bankrupt for a 2006 ammunition order which was never delivered despite the constant extensions the company received.
Referring to Greece’s decision to send a frigate to join the multinational Operation Prosperity Guardian mission to the Red Sea to protect free navigation which is threatened by the Houthi rebels in western Yemen, Dendias said the mission will not start immediately, as prior arrangements need to be made regarding the form of the mission at various levels beyond the purely operational aspect.
Greece, he underlined, has chosen to play an increasingly outward-looking role in its immediate and wider region, and could not be indifferent to an operation such as this.
Source: Ekathimerini.com
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