The announcement of the purchase of the F35 bypasses the procedure set forth in the law passed two years ago by the Mitsotakis administration, as pointed out by the George Kampas, honorary chief of the General Staff.
«That would never happen. I mean, the country’s prime minister doesn’t go abroad to announce the purchase of a weapons system,» he stressed emphatically in an interview.
As Mr. Kampas explained in an interview with Kontra24 and the Anastasia Yamalis, this is the second time the prime minister has announced the weapons systems our country will purchase without following the procedures required by law—a law that his own government enacted. The first instance was with the Rafale jets, which he announced at the Thessaloniki International Trade Fair, and now from the U.S., as he emphasized.
In fact, retired General George Kampas presented in detail all the steps required by law for the procurement of a weapons system. The most recent amendment, as he noted, was made two years ago by the Mitsotakis government.
«A weapons system to be purchased, or rather, to decide on its procurement, there is first a study—a feasibility study—conducted by a staff, in this case by the Hellenic Air Force General Staff (HAFS). It then proceeds to the General Directorate of Defense Equipment and Investments (GDAE), and from there it reaches the Council of Chiefs of General Staffs (SAGE), where it is approved and then forwarded to the Defense Council (SAM), that is, to the Minister. After the Minister (Minister of National Defense) approves it in consultation with the DGEE, it is submitted to Parliament, specifically to the Parliamentary Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defense and, in particular, to the Subcommittee on Defense Procurement, which issues an opinion on this procurement, and finally, it is submitted to the Government Council for Foreign Affairs and Defense (KYSEA). »That is the law.”.
Finally, referring to the political part of the prime minister’s speech, he appeared deeply troubled, mainly by the fact that the prime minister never mentioned the word “Turkey.” And this, as he explained, is because it clearly reflects the U.S.’s different perspective on the entire issue of Turkey. “We should raise a question mark regarding this issue,” Mr. Kampas concluded.
