Washington gave his green light to a possible sale to Greece of four frigates, while Paris concluded in September a prior agreement on the sale of three French frigates to the Greek navy.
Will the story be repeated? Less than three months after the agreement concluded between the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom, which had torpedoled a mega contract of French submarines to the Australian Navy, the administration of Joe Biden tries again. blow a juicy defense contract to France.
While French President Emmanuel Macron and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis concluded an agreement for the provision to Greece of three defense and intervention for some € 3 billion, the department American state announced, Friday, December 10, have pre-approved a sales project in Athens of four combat frigates and their equipment, worth $ 6.9 billion (approximately 6.1 billion euros. ).
Washington also approved the modernization of the Greek frigates of the MEKO class, for an amount estimated at $ 2.5 billion. The statement specifies that the contract, in both cases, “will be granted to the winner of an international call for tenders” on the modernization of the Greek Navy.
According to the Franco-Greek agreement, announced with great pomp on September 28 in Paris, three defbitates of defense and intervention (baptized Belharra export) must be built in France by Naval Group, in Lorient (Morbihan ), to be delivered to the Greek Navy in 2025 and 2026. The preliminary agreement also covers a fourth optional frigate.
Unprecedented diplomatic crisis
The contract must be signed “by the end of the year”, then specified the French Ministry of the Armies. In addition to vessels, it includes the supply by the MBDA missile manufacturer of their armaments (anti-aircraft missiles Aster, Antinavires Exocet and torpedoes) and support services over three years.
This announcement comes a few weeks after an unprecedented diplomatic crisis between Washington and Paris. In September, the United States had announced a security partnership in the Indo-Pacific area with Australia and the United Kingdom, including the delivery of nuclear propulsion submarines in Canberra. Australia had therefore broken a gigantic contract signed with France for the delivery of conventional submarines, causing the anger of Paris.