The award-winning American writer Ernest Miller Hemingway in 1929 completed the writing of the famous war novel "Farewell to Arms" which offered him significant literary and commercial recognition, while three years later the screenplay will be transferred to the first film. . Exactly the same title could be given this year and on Hellenic Armed Forces, as in 2021 it will say goodbye to a total of five legendary weapons, most of which accompanied for over four decades thousands of Greeks during their military service.
The 3mm G-7,62 assault rifle, which may have been considered reliable but is now obsolete, will be withdrawn first. "Served" in Greek Army for 44 whole years - from the first years of the Metapolitism onwards. However, it has never been used in military operations, which means that most of these rifles are in excellent condition.
His arrival in the Armed Forces of our country began in 1977 when the Greek State signed a contract with the West German company Heckler und Koch for its construction, by the then Greek Arms Industry. The military units began to be equipped with them from the early 1980s. They were distributed in almost all the camps, and the only units that did not use them were those of the Special Forces and the critical Army Corps (XNUMXth SS). "Thrace") guarding the Greek-Turkish land border, which continued to use FN rifles, as well as some units of the security forces that brought American weapons.
In the late 1990s, the armament of the 3th Army Corps was replaced by G3 rifles. G3A3 is still used by soldiers and G4A1990 by non-commissioned officers and from the XNUMXs onwards by junior officers and soldiers who specialize in tank crew (shooters, drivers, gunners, commanders).
The G3 is a combat rifle that works with the deceleration system. It combines sniper and light machine gun firepower, with the G3A3 having a plastic butt and the G3A4 metal folding. On the left side of the weapon is the arming lever, as well as the fire and safety lever, while the magazine stop is located between the magazine and the trigger guard. It is worth noting, however, that the units of the selected men of the Armed Forces such as commandos, marines and members of Z-MAK (Amphibious Squadron) already have the most modern M16 / M4.
Currently the competent services General Staff of the Army evaluate the rifles of other countries in order to find the appropriate "Greek rifle" that our army will have in the coming years. It is reported that the replacement of the G3 will be "much more reliable and of purely NATO standards".
Another weapon that the Greek Armed Forces will say goodbye to in 2021 will be the 1911-inch Colt M0,45 pistol, the replacement of which will also be made in our country. This is the so-called 45ari, as many people know, which is of American origin and the first pieces came to Greece in 1950, a few months after the end of the Civil War and a few months before we joined NATO. To this day it is used by senior officers but also by hoplites of special duties, e.g. by sailors who are on duty at the entrance of warships when they are moored in ports. It is very easy to maintain, does not require any tools for untying and tying, has an effective range of 50 meters, maximum range of 1.465 meters, weight of 1.021 kilograms and takes 7 bullets.
The first Colt Model 1911 (or M1911 for short) was built for the needs of the United States cavalry in the early 20th century. Yes, 1911 is the year that they became the official service weapon of the US Army. Even today it is used by the Armed Forces of at least 20 countries around the world, which of course includes Greece (this semi-automatic is used with minor improvements as there is the model M1911A1 and M1911A4 of 2004. However, the US stopped using it from 1985 when it was replaced by the Italian Beretta M9 which had a much smaller diameter (9 mm) and from 2017 the Sig P320.
At the same time, within the year, the legendary SUVs of all-terrain Mercedes of the Hellenic Armed Forces and the Greek Police, which were assembled (not manufactured) by the Greek Vehicle Industry, founded in 1972 and originally named Steyer Hellas SA, will be withdrawn. with the factory located in the Industrial Zone of Sindos Thessaloniki.
What most people do not know is that Greece produced over 10.000 Mercedes Benz W462 SUVs of various variants (usually for personnel and cargo transport but also for command vehicles, ambulances and armaments) and at least another 250 right-hand drive vehicles to meet its needs. National Guard of Cyprus. For decades, these cars "swallowed" the kilometers of Greek roads, but now it is time to retire after they have completed their life cycle and do not meet NATO safety standards.
The Mercedes Benz G-Klasse jeep, as it is also known, has been manufactured since 1979 until today, almost unchanged aesthetically, with only gradual improvements in its technological background, equipment and active and passive safety. In our country, ELVO manufactured as military series Mercedes-Benz W462 the models 240GD / 24 (weighing 1,25 tons) and 290GD / 28 (weighing 1,5 tons), which had come to replace the even older Willys M38A1, Ford M151A1 and Volkswagen Typ 181. The new vehicles selected by the General Staff of the National Defense will necessarily have strong armor on the windows and windshields and strong safety in the passenger compartment.
The legendary will be off the road until the end of 2021 trucks Steyer of the Greek Army. Almost everyone who has served in the military in the infantry has entered them at least once in their life. It was the official vehicle for transporting personnel and supplies of the Armed Forces and of course transported the soldiers from one observation post to another when they were away. Go everywhere untouched. From the ridges of the mountains to the rivers.
It started to be manufactured in our country in 1972 by Steyer Hellas SA mentioned above, in two different versions (680M and 680M3). It was based on the Steyer 680M manufactured by the large Austrian parent company Steyer Daimler Puch (this was also the factory in Thessaloniki, which was renamed in 1987 to the Greek Vehicle Industry and transferred to the Greek State) in the period 1960 - 1984. Theoretically its capacity was for 19 soldiers in the carriage but we all know that, at least in our country, it stacked many more. Many of them did not get a truck license while they were soldiers, learning to drive in a steering wheel, while in 1992 they also performed public transport debts when under the rule of Konstantinos Mitsotakis the privatization of EAS was attempted with the result that the bus strikers pulled the handbrake. the vehicles in the depots, so the legendary army trucks were mobilized to transport the people.
Finally, for its part, the Air Force by the end of 2021 will have withdrawn the French Mirage 2000 fighter jets (in Greek the word means "optical illusion"). In the new agreement for the purchase of the 18 state-of-the-art Rafale fighters announced by the government (some of them will be brand new and some used), there is a proposal that provides for the sale of the older ones. Mirage 2000 EGM to the French, as they have completed 33 years of service in the Armed Forces of our country. We are referring only to the old type of specific aircraft that will be withdrawn as the newer Mirage 2000-5 will continue to fly normally on behalf of the Greek Air Force after the supply of the required spare parts.
The retired Mirage 2000s are single-seater, single-engine, delta-wing multi-role and all-weather fighter jets. They joined our arsenal in 1988 with the "Talos" Contract, under which 40 pieces were purchased. In particular, between 1988 and 1992, 36 Mirage 2000 EGMs and 4 two-seater Mirage 2000 BGMs were delivered to the Air Force. It was the first fighter in our country to have an automatic electronic flight control system. Its electronics include two mainframe computers, an inertial navigation system and a digital data transfer unit. It also has the integrated ICMS 2000 self-defense system that shields the aircraft from both air and ground threats, and has the ability to carry a wide variety of weapons systems. The Greek Mirage 2000 had the ability to be armed all these years with air-to-air missiles Super 530 / Matra Magic and was used mainly in interception missions.
Their base is still at the 114th Battle Wing in Tanagra and they belong to the 332 Squadron with the "Geraki" call feature. The Greek Mirage 2000 has a two-tone variation of blue and gray, has a length of 14,36 meters, displacement of wings 9,13 meters, flies at a maximum altitude of 15.250 meters and can develop speeds of up to 2,2 Mach (2.530 kilometers per hour).
Of course, at the same time that all these weapons systems that closed its life cycle are being withdrawn, Greece is getting new supplies. We have already mentioned the fate of the 18 state-of-the-art French fighter jets Flurry In addition, the renewal envisages the purchase of, among other things, four multi-role frigates and the modernization of existing, heavy-duty torpedoes for submarines, anti-tank, multi-mission helicopters for the Navy and Unmanned Aircraft for the US Air Force.