The bill of the Ministry of National Defence for the acquisition of 18 Rafale fighter jets was voted by a majority before the Authority Parliamentary Committee on National Defence and Foreign Affairs.

The parties of New Democracy, Movement of Change (KINAL) and Greek Solution (Elliniki Lisi) were in favor of the bill, the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) voted against it, while the Coalition of the Radical Left – Progressive Alliance (SYRIZA) and “MERA 25” will vote in the Plenary Session.

“Today is a very important day as the work of the Parliamentary Committee on National Defence and Foreign Affairs has shown that diplomacy goes hand in hand with strengthening the power of deterrence,” said National Defence Minister Nikos Panagiotopoulos. 

The Parliamentary Committee, the Minister said, “met earlier to vote on the bill that extends the territorial waters of our country. And now, right after that, we are meeting to discuss the acquisition of Rafale fighter jets.” He stressed that “the Armed Forces are called to play a critical and demanding role in safeguarding our national independence, the territorial integrity of our country, ensuring stability in the wider region of the Eastern Mediterranean, projecting the strong imprint of their deterrent power.”

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Minister Panagiotopoulos pointed out that “the deterrent power of our Armed Forces is both the power of their arsenal, but also the personeel that is the quality multiplier.”

The Minister noted that “the effort to increase the combat power and deterrence capability of the Armed Forces is an ongoing and intensive issue, which becomes imperative given the current geopolitical challenges in our wider environment and especially given Turkey’s provocative behaviour, which directly challenges our sovereign rights and threatens peace and stability in the Eastern Mediterranean.”

In this context, he explained, based on the requirements of the Hierarchy of our Armed Forces, a comprehensive plan has been approved by the Armament Programs Committee of the Parliament, which includes 105 sub-programs which will be implemented in depth of 5 to 7 years. Part of this plan is the acquisition of the 18 Rafale fighter jets in their most advanced form. “These are state-of-the-art aircraft whose specifications and the power of the weapons they feature create clear conditions of superiority in favor of our Air Force in the wider region, but also in the air power balance between Greece and Turkey.”

The Minister of National Defence stated that the Rafale fighter jets were selected as this aircraft is one of the most modern fighter aircraft, between the 4th and 5th generations, with technological innovations that enable them to perform all missions throughout the Greek airspace and the Eastern Mediterranean quickly and efficiently, against modern technological rivals and within a battlefield with complex threats.

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Source in Greek: ANA ΜPA