Greece News Plan to split Hellenic Aerospace

[Pantelis]

The plan to separate the Hellenic Aerospace Industry (EAB) into two parts and to privatize the manufacturing arm with the addition of a strategic partner (Lockheed Martin) is expected to be completed and delivered to the appropriate authorities at the beginning of September.

The aim is to turn the company into a hub for manufacturing and repair work involving aircraft such as C-130 military transport planes, F-16 fighter jets and other systems not limited to the Hellenic Air Force fleet but more broadly. It could, in short, turn EAB into a hub for a major regional market.

The plan essentially entails the splitting of EAB into two companies. The first, which will include fixed assets and infrastructure, will remain under the control of the state, and the second will, in effect, be the company that will carry out the various projects, such as airframes, aircraft repairs, aircraft upgrades and engine maintenance.

However, given the current climate of political turmoil, no one is in the position to predict whether these plans will succeed.

Meanwhile, on Thursday, the main leftist opposition SYRIZA party questioned whether the BMP-1 armored fighting vehicles have indeed been withdrawn from the islands, citing several reports.

Kathimerini understands that some BMP-1s have indeed been transferred to mainland Greece in order to be maintained, as most are not in operational condition. The M-1113 armored personnel carriers and some of the American M-1117 armored security vehicles, much more suitable for the island terrain, are already in place, leaving no question of meeting defense needs.

On the contrary, because the army staffs are well aware of both the terrain and the needs of the mechanized units, it has already been decided that when the Marder vehicles come to Greece from Germany, they will not be transferred to the islands but to the Armored Brigades of Thrace, where their capabilities can be exploited to the maximum.