The Minister of Maritime Affairs and Insular Policy, Vassilis Kikilias, spoke about the “Aegis 2” armament program, which aims to completely modernize the Coast Guard, in an interview with Open TV.
As he pointed out, with the implementation of the program, “the Coast Guard will enter a new era, so that it can face any threat to the maritime borders of our country, such as illegal migration and drug trafficking, arms trade and any illegal activities in general.”
Kikilias emphasized that “Aegis 2” will run at the same speed as the previous similar program of Civil Protection.
“Just as we managed within 15 months to deliver the most ambitious and largest Civil Protection program in the history of the country … we want ‘Aegis 2’ to bring the Coast Guard into the modern era,” he said.
Effort to implement the program to build new vessels in Greek shipyards
He added that for the first time, an effort will be made to implement a program to build new vessels in Greek shipyards. “This is the goal. Within the framework of legality and transparency – because you cannot exclude someone from participating in the tenders – but the government’s goal is to support and create new jobs in Greek shipyards,” he said, underlining the crucial role that the new Coast Guard vessels will play in guarding the sea borders and combating illegal migration, which will include two large offshore vessels, over 80 meters long, that will have coastal patrol and high-speed pursuit vessels. In addition, as he said, the “Aegis 2” include drones and unmanned submarines, while the role of the new Operations Center (War Room) will be crucial, along the lines of the War Room created in Civil Protection with the use of artificial intelligence.
“It is an ambitious program, but I want the Greek people and Greek society to know that we respect every euro, whether it comes from Greek or European resources, and we must support and relieve our islands and support all these areas that are washed by the sea, but also our central ports that are a source of revenue, development and economic power for the country. You see the announcements that are being made about LNG, about the way it will move north from Alexandroupolis to the rest of Europe, what geostrategic and geopolitical possibilities this gives us and how the country is strengthened on the global map. “All of this does not happen magically, it happens with great effort,” the Minister stated.
