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In Greek strategic culture, the submarine functions arsenic a multiplier of unit and a deterrent, due to the fact that the state is surrounded by 4 seas. There is simply a glorious tradition that begins with the testing of the Swedish-made, steam-powered submarine Nordenfelt successful 1886 and continues successful 1912, when the Delfin (Dolphin) carried retired the world’ s archetypal torpedo onslaught against the Turkish cruiser Mecidiye adjacent Tenedos.
This trend culminated successful World War II, when the legendary Papanikolis and different Greek submarines conducted highly risky operations against force ships successful the Aegean and Ionian Seas. HS Glafkos and HS Nirefs sailed for Cyprus 1 time aft the Turkish penetration of 1974, but for reasons that are still unclear, they unluckily had nary subject involvement.
More recently, our submarines played a important relation successful managing the 2020 Aegean crisis. With their continuous quality gathering and precocious operational readiness, they contributed decisively to avoiding a conflict.
The Eastern Mediterranean is simply a analyzable operational environment, with galore state actors maintaining a strong naval presence. Surface units are, however, exposed to attacks by craft and unmanned systems, owed to their size and the trouble of concealment successful a tract of accrued surveillance. In contrast, submarines proceed to harvester survivability, flexibility and the quality to motorboat a surprise attack. Technological improvement is rapid; they are present multi-capable combat platforms, with precocious sensor and weapon systems, which let them to run with large autonomy.
For Greece, successful particular, submarines are an important equalizer of subject power. Our seas person a divers seabed, with seamounts and heavy basins, which marque them hard to locate. The predominant uncertainty regarding the nonstop determination of a submarine forces the adversary to perpetrate disproportionate resources to anti-submarine defense, limiting its state of movement. Our submarines support islands and islets, vigor interests, underwater cables and oversea lanes, while they tin run everyplace without provoking escalation. Also, the precocious acquired heavyweight torpedo capableness allows Greek submarines to target force bases and captious infrastructure. The gradual instauration and operational utilization of unmanned underwater systems is estimated to lend adjacent much to strengthening Greek maritime deterrence.
In a portion where powerfulness is perpetually projected by the opposing side, the submarine is 1 of the fewer means that tin alteration the equilibrium of powerfulness successful favour of Greece. Our submarine fleet still remains 1 of the strongest successful the Eastern Mediterranean, with the halfway of the 4 Papanikolis-class (Type 214/1600) submarines equipped with the anaerobic propulsion system and an highly debased acoustic footprint. However, the remaining units are approaching the extremity of their operational beingness and request to beryllium replaced by the mediate of the adjacent decade. According to information, the Navy is already examining various proposals from European and Asian companies. For evident reasons, experienced officers successful the assemblage tin measure them amended than anyone and marque due recommendations to the governmental leadership.
At a strategic level, however, the caller type of submarines indispensable guarantee Greek naval supremacy successful the Aegean and the Eastern Mediterranean. In summation to precocious autonomy and debased footprint, network-centric operations and the quality to strike with cruise missiles are required. This is the lone way that nationalist information and Greek interests will beryllium protected. The determination connected the adjacent procreation of submarines indispensable so not beryllium delayed owed to governmental oregon economical circumstances. Remaining faithful to the naval tradition, we indispensable stand strong successful our seas.
Manos Karagiannis is prof of planetary relations astatine the University of Macedonia and a scholar successful planetary information astatine King’s College London.
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