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Breaking News from America's Progressive Community... Latest Releases
Making news? The press releases posted here have been provided to NewsCenter by the one of the many progressive organizations we have selected to participate . If you would like more information about this press release, you should contact the organization directly.
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| OCTOBER 22, 1998
3:08 PM FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Conventional Arms Transfer Project Tom Cardamone - 202.546.0795 x-126 |
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| The Kidds Are Alright: Four Kidd-Class Destroyers Going To Greece | ||||
| WASHINGTON -
October 22 - While the media buzzed about impeachment hearings and gargantuan budget
deals, Congress quietly slipped a provision into the FY99 DoD Appropriations bill allowing
the sale of four Kidd-class guided missile destroyers to Greece. These menacing
war-ships will be transferred under a "lease/sale" agreement. The four vessels (KIDD DDG 993, CALLAGHAN DDG 994, SCOTT DDG 995, CHANDLER DDG 996) will double the size of the Greek destroyer fleet and enable the Hellenic navy to greatly test their principal opponent, and NATO partner, Turkey. Touted by the U.S. Navy as "the most formidable warship[s] of [their] size ever to patrol the world's oceans," the Kidd-class ships are "a triple threat" that can simultaneously engage "air, surface, and sub-surface" enemies. Armaments include Harpoon and Standard missiles, and Vulcan Phalanx guns. The sale comes at a time when tensions between Greece and Turkey are rising dangerously over the Cyprus powder keg and the two nations have begun to ramp-up their arms acquisitions. In July, Turkey signed a $590 million deal with Germany's HDW to co-produce four submarines and recently inked a half-billion dollar deal with Sikorsky for 50 Black Hawk helicopters. For its part, Greece is on a five-year, $24 billion arms upgrade program to keep pace with its rival across the Aegean. Athens announced a $1.2 billion purchase of the Patriot missile system this month, and is also in the market for F-15 fighters. Pentagon insiders say the Kidd destroyer deal is being made under "a new program" that allows the sale of ships still commissioned in the U.S. Navy. Talks on final price continue, but DoD sources say the negotiations will result in "a very generous agreement." Greece can take five years to pay with no interest. Surprisingly, almost half the service life remains on the Kidd-class ships. The KIDD and CALLAGHAN were decommissioned in March, after only 17 years in service. The SCOTT is scheduled to be decommissioned in December, and the CHANDLER will be prematurely pulled from service in September, 1999. Rest assured the destroyers will arrive in ship-shape. On the same day the lease/sale deal was printed in the Congressional Record, Ingalls Shipbuilding Inc. in Pascagoula, MS announced an $87 million DoD contract to upgrade the four Kidd-class destroyers along with several other vessels. http://www.clw.org/pub/clw/cat/catmain.html - 30 - |
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