December 25, 2001 at 12:36 am
As Greece and Turkey are ” 2 regional super powers” it is surprising that Greece has not made a decision to purchase an aircraft carrier. Because the Aegean Sea constitutes the heart of its defence it is only right that this is addressed by buying one of these super Vessels.
Is it politics that it doesn’t want to tip the balance of power in its favour?? disagreement within NATO & the EU or mainly because of cost???(how expensive can it be to build $5bn??). Greece already spends upwards of $4bn a year on defence and it could possibly share the cost with Cyprus under the defence dogma of 1993. Cyprus being the lesser contributor but still having some input cost wise.
An aircraft carrier patrolling the Aegean would really go along way in deterring the countless incursions of Turkish F-16s in Greece’s FIR. This coupled with a SAM umbrella hosting the S300 & Patriot PAC-3, protecting the whole of southern Europe, would make Greece into a feared and respected military ally.
Any chance of buying any of USA’s decommissioned carriers???