Military ties with India deepening
The visit next week of General Dimitris Houpis, chief of the Hellenic National Defense General Staff, to India will be another step in strengthening bilateral relations between Athens and New Delhi.
According to exclusive sources, Greece and India will sign a military cooperation program for the first time in their history, which includes exercises and joint activities with personnel and assets of the three branches of the army, as well as the special forces.
Kathimerini understands that the staff of the two countries are already drafting co-training programs under which military forces from Greece will take part in national-scale activities in India and vice versa.
Participation in international exercises organized by both Athens and New Delhi, such as Iniochos and Tarang Shakti, is also planned. There will, moreover, be an exchange of military personnel and cooperation in information, technology and innovation.
Houpis will discuss bilateral and regional security issues with his counterpart, General Anil Chauhan, and other senior officials, with arms issues also reportedly to be on the table.
The focus will be on the Middle East, Greece’s participation in the European Operation Aspides in the Red Sea – an area of vital interest to New Delhi – cooperation with the Indian Navy, Ukraine and the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC).
The military cooperation program will start being implemented in the coming months with Greek fighters heading to India for the first time. Greece’s participation in Tarang Shakti has reportedly been locked in and in September four aircraft are to take part in one of the largest air exercises on Asian soil.
Though the type of aircraft has yet to be determined, four Rafale aircraft from the 332 Falcon Squadron are under consideration because these aircraft are also used by the Indian Air Force. However, F-16 Vipers are not out of the question as they serve as the backbone of Pakistan’s air force and Indian pilots are frequently called upon to engage them in aerial combat.
