Athens is quietly welcoming moves by India to field an aeronautical
Athens is quietly welcoming moves by India to field an aeronautical presence in the eastern Mediterranean by, among others, using the Souda Bay airbase and anchorage in western Crete for warplane layovers and docking for its transiting warships.
Indian military sources that spoke with the Athens daily “Ta Nea”, in fact, pointed to the recent arrival of the Indian Navy (INS) frigate “Tamal” in Greek waters for joint training with the Hellenic Navy fast attack missile boat “Ritsos” before the former docked at Souda Bay.
On the Greek side, the chief of the Hellenic National Defense General Staff (HNDGS), Gen. Dimitrios Choupis, officially visited New Delhi last year, with bilateral defense cooperation emerging on several levels afterwards.
Indian units, for instance, subsequently participated in inter-branch exercises, Indian firms participated in the DEFEA defense exhibition in Athen and intelligence-sharing commenced, while New Delhi has also promised to station a military liaison officer at its embassy in Athens as soon as this year.
Additionally, a senior military source told “Ta Nea” that New Delhi is now “eyeing” the Greece’s defense industry, while also pointing out that Greek vessels, fighter jets, special forces units as well as staff officers participated in recent
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