Contacts of the Minister of Foreign Affairs Anthony Blinken in Athens, in addition to ceremonially reaffirming the strategic relationship that the US has now built with Greece, it also served as a milestone for close defense and security ties.

Mr. Blinken himself referred to the investments already made ($123 million in total) under the new multi-year regime of action. Mutual Defense Cooperation Agreement (MDCA) V Suda and Larissa bases.

At the same time, in their joint statement 4th Strategic Dialogue it became clear that the supply of the press of the fifth generation F-35 will actually continue on a schedule that is roughly known from the discussions held at the level Ministry of National Defense with the Lockheed Martin manufacturing company.

Marathi and Suda

Firstly, these are the bases where the Americans are already present, namely in Souda, Alexandroupolis and Larisa. Needless to say, Suda is an indispensable US naval base, the only one of its kind between the Atlantic and Indian Oceans.

The investment that is going on there is not limited to the facilities in Marathi, but also extends to the Souda air base, although it is no secret that in recent years the Armed Forces (AF) have benefited from surplus building materials that are used to the naval base of the Navy (PN) was also expanded.

The joint declaration of the 4th Strategic Dialogue indicated that the F-35 procurement would proceed as scheduled.

Armed forces

The second pillar is cooperation. Greek and American military forces are cooperating and conducting exercises throughout the territory, even in areas that usually annoy the Turks.

Of course, the goal here is to exploit the geographic terrain of Greece, a NATO ally in crisis with Russia, and not send messages to Ankara.

Manufacturing sector

The third pillar is equipment and the possibility of cooperation in the industrial field. In terms of equipment, the 83 Viper-configured F-16 upgrade program is already well under way, with US preparations in the final stages for a positive response to a request for 20 aircraft. F-35 with the possibility of 20 more for the second time.

In addition, an agreement on the supply of MN-60R helicopters for P.N. Recently, after fixing the problem of the availability of the C-130 in the transport fleet, the issue of deliveries of new aircraft has also been raised, since the cost of maintaining the existing ones and everything that is stored at the EAB facilities can be disproportionately higher. high.

It will be seen in the coming months whether cooperation in the industrial sector fits into this third pillar. The Ministry of Development has already begun the process of a strategic investor joining the ODA. Many believe that the fact that the vast majority of the work done at the ODA is for Lockheed Martin programs justifies the possibility that the American company will become a strategic investor that will take over the production, leaving the assets to the state.