The magazine pointed out that Turkey has purchased 6 German-made combat submarines, of the modern “Reis Class” model, which will allow Turkish military superiority in the eastern Mediterranean region, if it actually obtains these submarines, because it has obtained only one of them, so far.
The magazine quoted Greek officials and sources, who did not reveal their identity, their quest and request from the German side not to hand these submarines to Turkey, because they might affect the security and military balance between the two “conflicting” countries, which the Greek authorities publicly deny, stressing not to interfere in the relations between the two countries. any two states.
The source added that Greece used the spectrum of its European and international relations to support it in putting pressure on Germany not to do so.
The available information about these “Reis Class” submarines, which is expected to be delivered to Turkey, says that they are capable of launching heavy marine “torpedoes” and guided missiles against sea and land targets, and their stay under water is estimated at about 3 weeks, which is 10 times the time that submarines can traditional to stay out.
And this submarine can approach the shores, while remaining safe, much more than conventional submarines, which are qualitative characteristics that distinguish them from what both countries currently have of naval weapons.
quality capabilities
“The problem is that these submarines can be used to gather intelligence in disputed waters, and the submarines may be armed with medium-range anti-ship missiles, which can greatly neutralize Greek capabilities,” says Emmanuel Karagiannis, Professor of Political Economy at London College. anti-submarine.”
This Greek-Turkish “political-military” debate about obtaining advanced naval weapons takes place after the outbreak of political, military and economic tension between the two countries, despite their membership in the “NATO” alliance, which reached its climax in the summer of last year.
This tension prompted the two sides to increase their military capabilities, as Greece bought a number of French warplanes. Late last year, it announced an increase in its defense budget by nearly a fifth, from $5.5 billion to $6.6 billion, noting that this budget, despite the increase, remains less than half of the Turkish military budget, estimated at about $17 billion.
Military researchers have made a number of comparisons between the Turkish and Greek navies, when tension was exacerbated by the competition for the fortunes of the eastern Mediterranean, and with it the rights of sovereignty over the continental waters separating the two sides in the Aegean Sea.
Balance necessity
According to these comparisons, the capabilities of the Turkish Navy were estimated to be twice what Greece had, in terms of quantity and quality. Therefore, Turkey’s acquisition of modern German submarines may increase this difference to levels that would push Greece to obtain what might alter that balance at any cost.
The Turkish navy estimates about fifty thousand fighters, and owns about 150 naval military units, compared to Greece’s possession of 13 frigates, 11 conventional submarines and only 4 minesweepers, even though the number of its naval soldiers is equal to the number of their Turkish counterparts.
The Turkish researcher, who specializes in political affairs, Erkd Çamlıoğlu, explained in an interview with “Sky News Arabia” the impact of the naval military modernization operations carried out by Turkey, pointing out that “the contract for these submarines belongs to earlier times, when European-Turkish relations were better, Especially with Germany and Greece, the two countries involved.”
He added, “The situation is currently completely different, and without a doubt, the European powers, with the support and contribution of the United States, will seek to restore the balance in the naval power between the two countries, because they are fully aware that failure to do so will lead to the outbreak of forms of tension that may lead to a military clash.” This is something neither side can afford.
He stressed that the military balance, according to political science, “only is capable of establishing bilateral deterrence for countries with political tensions between them.”
In his interview with Sky News Arabia, the Turkish researcher added, “During the first stage, Greece will rely on the bilaterals of France and the United States to restore balance, and all military agreements and American parliamentary legislation confirm this trend.”
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source https://pledgetimes.com/greece-efforts-to-pressure-germany-to-stop-a-military-submarine-deal-to-turkey/
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