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France may lose another multibillion shipbuilding deal to US
11 Dec, 2021 04:24
The United States has approved a massive arms sale to Greece, offering four new frigates and a major modernization package worth up to $9.4 billion, directly challenging a similar preliminary agreement with France.
The US State Department said it approved the potential deals on Friday, announcing the offer of several Multi-Mission Surface Combatant (MMSC) ships in addition to a separate $2.5 billion plan to modernize Greece’s MEKO Class Frigates.
“This proposed sale will support the foreign policy and national security objectives of the United States by helping to improve the security of a NATO ally, which is an important partner for political stability and economic progress in Europe,” the Defense Security Cooperation Agency said.
Unfortunately, foreign policy and national security objectives are entirely about weapons sales. France is quite capable of meeting NATO objectives. Why is the USA treating them the same way they treat Russia? It's very disappointing that the EU is tolerating this aggression without a word.
If executed, the scheme to update Greece’s frigate fleet would include the installation of a number of new systems, such as new five-inch artillery cannons and upgraded sonar. Arms dealers Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, VSE Corporation and the UK’s BAE Systems would serve as the primary contractors.
Ever wonder who is running the government? This is Deep State! They care for no-one but themselves.
The announced proposal comes after France declared in September that it had reached a similar agreement with Greece to provide up to four new frigates for $3.4 billion (€3 billion). At the time, however, French military spokesman Herve Grandjean said that while some commitments had been made, no formal contract was yet signed between the two sides. He added that the deal would be finalized after a period of three months, a deadline set to mature sometime in the coming weeks.
Though it is yet unclear what the US proposal will mean for France’s deal, the move could be interpreted as a major slight by Washington, which already invoked the country’s ire earlier this year after unveiling a nuclear submarine deal with Australia despite a preexisting arrangement with Paris. France, which was slated to sell diesel subs to Canberra, responded by recalling its ambassadors in both the US and Australia, while President Emmanuel Macron sharply criticized the two allies in public.
Two weeks after the AUKUS bombshell, Macron took the stage with Greek PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis to personally announce the sale of French warships to Athens, saying it was time to “stop being naive” while touting the deal as a sign of “Europe’s strategic autonomy and sovereignty.”
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UPDATE: 12/12/2021
France reacts to rival offer of US frigates to Greece
11 Dec, 2021 23:36
© DCNS via AFP
The defense ministries of France and Greece have both confirmed that a competing offer from the US will have no impact on an already “signed” and “final” multibillion-euro deal to purchase French Belharra frigates.
France's Ministry of Armed Forces stated on Saturday that a defense contract with Athens had already been “initialled a few days ago,” before the US State Department announced its approval of a potential sale of American frigates.
Since we have been in discussion with the Greeks, the American offer is no longer on the table... We also signed the contract with the Greeks.
Greece’s Defense Ministry also confirmed that the deal with Paris was “final,” since it had been negotiated at the “highest level possible” and “personally announced” by the Greek PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis. The finalized contracts are reportedly expected to be ratified by the Greek parliament “soon.”
Lest the Greek parliament have any doubts, they should check out America's most advanced Naval rust-bucket, the Zumwalt. This is what $4 billion dollars will get you.
The US Defense Security Cooperation Agency said on Friday it had approved the sale for $6.9 billion of four Lockheed Martin combat frigates, and a separate $2.5 billion program to upgrade Greece's MEKO-class frigates.
The announcement triggered some concerns over the Athens-Paris agreement, especially after a long-existing submarine construction “deal of the century” between France and Australia was abruptly tanked by a bombshell AUKUS pact in September, without any prior warning. Paris was outraged and accused Washington and Canberra of a “stab in the back,” while just two weeks later Macron shared a stage with the Greek PM to personally announce the sale of at least three French warships to Athens for around $3.5 billion, saying it was time to “stop being naive” while touting the new deal as a sign of “Europe’s strategic autonomy and sovereignty.”
This time around, according to the French military, the US “had warned us that this announcement was going to come out” and that Americans allegedly had “no inclination to go further” with an actual sale of their frigates.
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