New technologies in the defense industry were at the center of the discussion organized at the Delphi Economic Forum under the auspices of SA. of the President of the Republic, Katerina Sakellaropoulou.
Patrick Defranoux, CEO of Thales, spoke about the rich experience of the Thales company that counts 40 whole years in Greece, creating high quality technological systems.
He stated that the company's strategy is every time in the country that operates to seek a local presence and in this context it cooperates in Greece with small and medium enterprises engaged in the defense industry. He spoke of a large footprint of Thales in our country, which offers many business opportunities in the field of defense.
Mr. Defranoux briefly presented his company's contribution to the country's defense, which includes combat management systems, wireless and radar and other specialized equipment.
However, their contribution is not limited, as he noted, to the armed forces since the company contributes with its technology to air traffic control systems as well as other systems for the railway network and the metro of the capital.
For his part, Sr. EFA GROUP partner, Nikos Papatsas, stressed that innovation and high technology translate into increased capabilities and greater competitiveness of the armed forces and become an essential tool in the complex and changing environment we live in.
"We need armaments programs that will consolidate new alliances," he said, stressing that the Greek defense industry and other domestic efforts have a dual purpose as they both create jobs and contribute to the acquisition of know-how. Referring to the data field, he said that the way they are collected and managed has changed dramatically thanks to technology in recent years, stressing that the future of military operations lies in better and more secure collection and management of information.
"Our developments prove the potential of the Greek defense industry to undertake large projects of demands", he noted, adding that domestic companies can easily compete with foreign ones and at the same time have the advantage of locality.
"We are the largest defense industry in Greece," said INTRACOM Defense CEO Giorgos Troullinos, noting that the company allocates 7% of its turnover to research and development. An innovative domestic defense industry not only increases possibilities of the country, but it also functions, as he clarified, as a pole of attraction for foreign investments.
"Where this has happened, it has done its best," he said, citing examples such as Saudi Arabia, which mandates domestic production to cover 50% of its equipment, or Germany, which requires foreign suppliers to bring know-how and production to the country.
Mr. Trullinos episignalHowever, Greece's levels of research and innovation are far below the European average, and as one of the main reasons he cited the non-implementation of the relevant legislation. Since 2001, there has been legislation that stipulates that 1% of the value of armament programs will go to research, but in fact this law has never been implemented, as he underlined. However, if this happens in combination with the existing European resources, Greece will be able to recover and approach the European average.
The former General Director of GDAEE Theodoros Lagios spoke about the innovation on the verge of the 4th industrial revolution, stressing that it brings a wave of radical changes in every business sector and together with the defense capabilities. He particularly focused on the important and growing role of artificial intelligence that reduces the involvement of the human factor, while at the same time offeringvisual for a new strategy, that of technological supremacy.
He also referred to the great resource shortages brought about by the economic crisis crisis and then the pandemic and noted that government funding "is not a panacea". He also underlined the dual nature of these new technologies in the military and civilian sectors and pointed out the need for cooperation and mutual transfer of know-how. In Greece, as he said, the main bodies of research and innovation are Academic organizations and small or medium enterprises and this fact strengthens the need for collaborations even more. Finally, he spoke about the new challenges that make cross-border cooperation a top priority.
The discussion was moderated by Faidon Karaiosifidis, Director of Flight Magazine
