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NATIONAL DEFENSE POLICY AND EQUIPMENT

Vice Admiral, H.E. GR. DEMESTIHA, H.N.
Honorary Commander of the Fleet

The basic conditions for ensuring combat-worthy Armed Forces that will be able to defend National Interests are, first, to serve the appropriate personnel in quality and numbers who are excellently trained and have high morale and, second, to operate optimally the existing material, to renew old material in a timely manner with modern ones and to ensure qualitative superiority over potential adversaries.

The degree to which the above conditions will be met is determined by the threat assessment and by extension by the National Defense Policy which provides the guidelines that are translated into functions and means that the Armed Forces will have at their disposal. The more the conditions are met, the better the National Interests will be ensured. Decisions therefore on the required equipment of the Greek Armed Forces should be based on the National Defense Policy which includes the Mission of the Armed Forces and the response to the threat.

The Mission of the National Defence Forces as formulated by the Government is to guard the country, safeguard National Interests, deterrence, de-escalate tensions in the region, transfer the Theater of Operations (if necessary) to the opponent's region and deal with incidents caused by Turkey in the Aegean. At the same time, the formulated response to the threat includes deterring the Turkish threat by all means, the operation of the Doctrine of the Unified Defense Space of Greece-Cyprus and the strengthening of the country's defense mechanism in combination with its economic and demographic data. The new Structure of the National Defence Forces and the equipment are envisaged as means for the implementation of the National Defence Policy. The aim is therefore to find the appropriate solutions for the Structure and the equipment, so that the National Defense Policy can function and be implemented, which seeks to ensure the integrity of the National territory and the ability to undertake offensive operations (even if limited).

The demographic evolution of our population and the necessary ceiling, combined with the quality of the material and financial constraints, dictate the need to create a semi-professional army in order to ensure a high level of training and satisfactory staffing of the units and mainly of the Land Army, for which, in addition to the high quality of the cadres, sufficient personnel is also required.

Reducing the service life of conscripts is detrimental to the effectiveness of the units, while the replacement of conscripts by professional soldiers is possible to a certain extent, given the limitations (physical and social) that occur at older ages. Political decisions that reduce the ceiling mean an increase in equipment to ensure the required performance of the army.

Decisions on armaments, in order for them to be effective, must take into account certain basic components that are summarized as follows: The threat and its predicted evolution, the alternative solutions for addressing the threat, the effectiveness of the existing equipment of the Armed Forces, the quality and adequacy of the personnel as well as the international, allied and transnational obligations of our country. The differentiation of any component requires the differentiation of one or more of the other components, in order to maintain the defense capability at the desired or planned levels.

For a small country like Greece, which faces a threat from a country many times larger in population and army, which also spends huge amounts on armaments, in order to find the most techno-economically advantageous solutions, reflexes regarding armament programs must operate very promptly, especially if the restrictions imposed on our country by the Conventional Forces in Europe (CFE) agreement are taken into account, in contrast to Turkey, which does not have these restrictions.

The cross-sectoral nature of the planned operations is implemented through the interoperability and complementarity of the Armed Forces' equipment and not through the operation of cross-sectoral headquarters that were so easily decided without measuring the cost and personnel required for their smooth operation. Particular emphasis must be given to power multipliers such as: Communications (terrestrial and satellite) that are not susceptible to interference, capabilities in passive and active warfare, operation of a Command and Control System that covers all levels of command, the possibility of timely and safe transfer of personnel and material, effective air defense of the area and point, control of sea lines of communication, effective blockade of enemy areas and ports.

At the same time, decisions on armament programs also depend on the decisions of the potential adversary on its respective programs, while its decisions on Strategic options (such as the development of nuclear capabilities, satellite communications, the ability to refuel aircraft in flight, and the provision of long-range guided missiles) must attract the attention of the Greek political and military leadership, the National Defense Policy and the Military Strategy must be modified accordingly, and appropriate measures must be taken to address them by considering, as a priority, the promotion of similar and more effective programs, with implementation in a shorter time than that of the adversary.

The fluidity of the immediate environment and the destabilization of our northern border with the serious and perennial threat from the east require the strengthening of the Armed Forces, while at the same time the prosperity of the Greeks, the continuous development of the country and its response to international and allied obligations must be achieved. Consequently, the financial resources allocated for the armament programs must be distributed rationally and serve the Armed Forces and the society as a whole, where this is possible. However, the armament programs of the Armed Forces must be completed within the planned times, in order to be efficient, while for the completion of the armaments, all alternative solutions must be studied, so that the allocated resources are the minimum possible, operational requirements are met and there is the greatest possible Greek participation. Specifying this proposal, we estimate that the equipment of the Greek Armed Forces should operate within the following general framework:

Completing short-term requirements with cheap solutions, such as from used equipment from allied countries, while for medium- and long-term programs, ensuring our country's participation in production, so that armament planning meets the needs of two five-year plans (the first binding, the second under review).

Implementation of programs that will be governed by the principle of "quality over quantity" that will be completed within the time they have been designed, in order to be efficient, otherwise they will be reviewed.

Development and implementation of research programs in collaboration with Universities and Research Centers.

Development of material production by the Defense Industry, with an export orientation whenever possible.

Substantial utilization of Compensatory Benefits for exploitation by the Armed Forces and the Greek Economy.

Privatization of Defense Industries, except for those that contribute decisively to the formation of armaments policy, and consequently defense policy. In this case, their operation should be institutionalized with private economic criteria with a simultaneous review of sales strategies, marketability and production process and under the condition of selection of Administrations, with an increased majority of the competent parliamentary committee.