The air defense system Steel Dome, announced at the Turkish Defense Industry Executive Committee meeting, is echoing in neighboring Greece. Greek media, reporting President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s statements and the details of the Steel Dome project, announced that Greece also aims to strengthen its air defense. The news and commentary in the English edition of the Greek newspaper Kathimerini stated that the war in Ukraine and the conflicts in the Middle East are accelerating the decision-making process.
EFFECTIVE DEFENSE IS A MUST
The news by Vasilis Nedos, which was featured in the Kathimerini front page, included the following views: “Military conflicts in the vast region surrounding Greece have led Athens to make rapid decisions regarding multi-level air defense consisting of UAVs and medium-range anti-ballistic missiles. The Ukraine crisis and, more importantly, the various conflicts Israel has engaged in in the Middle East have shown that states cannot survive for long without a reliable and effective air defense system.“
GERMAN AND RUSSIAN WEAPONS
The article stated that systems other than the American-made Patriot missile systems are also equipped with anti-ballistic capabilities, and that “Greece is inadequate in providing a reliable defense method against medium and long-range threats.”
The article also highlighted the following analyses: “There is already an anti-drone umbrella in the eastern Aegean islands, but this needs to be expanded. Another problem that has emerged since the start of the war in Ukraine is the status of short, medium and long-range anti-aircraft systems made in Russia (S-300, TOR-M1) or East Germany (OSA-AK) that are no longer in use. “These systems, while supported by relative reliability, are technologically limited and operationally can only play a secondary role in a modern warfighting environment.”
STEEL DOME EXAMPLE
The article in Kathimerini also mentions the development of the EUROSAM Consortium, which consists of Italy and France. Turkey’s initiatives regarding the SAMP/T Air and Missile Defense System were also recalled. The news under the headline reported developments regarding the Steel Dome in Turkey.
EMPHASIS ON DOMESTIC PRODUCTION
The Greek press underlined that the Steel Dome program was developed on a national scale using local resources, saying,Multiple air defense systems, sensors, and weapon layers will be able to work together seamlessly in a network-based structure. This integration will enable real-time situational awareness to operations centers and decision makers powered by artificial intelligence (AI).” statements were given.
‘THEY ARE WATCHING FOR KAAN’
On the other hand, the Greek media reported on the development of Turkey’s first national fighter jet, KAAN, and the development of the Naval Forces Command. Issues regarding the procurement of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) such as Bayraktar TB3, Akıncı, Aksungur and kamikaze drone boats were also conveyed. Another defense industry development covered by the Greek media was the F-35 aircraft agreement reached with the United States. Defense Minister Nikos Dendias confirmed that Athens had signed a formal Letter of Acceptance (LOA) with Washington for the purchase of F-35 fighter jets.
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