CEO Group Naval: The rebirth of the Greek defense and shipbuilding industry

The door to the modernization and reconstitution of the Greek defense and shipbuilding industry is announced by the French giant Group Naval, through the mouth of its president and CEO, Pierre Eric Pommellet.

As Mr. Pommellet pointed out during an exclusive interview he granted to state news agency AMNA, on the occasion of the publication of the offer he submitted to the Greek authorities for the Hellenic Navy‘s corvette program, the transfer of know-how is in Group Naval’s DNA. It is already working with a number of Greek companies on the Belharra frigate program and has identified a number of others that could form part of its supply chain. Both within the commitment to 30% indigenously produced value of the Gowind corvette program and more broadly, in merchant shipping.

Mr. Pommellet referred extensively to the interoperability displayed by the two types of ships, which he characterized as power multipliers, not only in terms of the capacity of the Greek Navy but also in terms of the Greek defense and shipbuilding industry. A particularly interesting point coming from someone who is at the helm of a group that recorded revenues of more than 4 billion euros in the fiscal year 2021. He also pointed out that as the head of GICAN (Association of French Shipbuilding Industries) he has already concluded an agreement with the “counterpart” Greek body SEKPY ( Association of Greek Defense Industries) for the promotion of cooperation between the two sides. He did not fail to mention the increased possibility of cooperation that the navies of Greece, Egypt and France will have, in the event of the adoption of the Gowind corvettes. “Selection” of countries is not random.

Accordingly, he made it absolutely clear that Group Naval intends to invest in the field of research and development in Greece, specifically mentioning the examples of energy transfer and autonomous drone systems. Mr. Pommellet made a special mention both to the Sunlight company and the innovative battery systems it manufactures, as well as to the shipowner Mr. G. Prokopiou for the vision he has regarding the future of the shipbuilding sector in Greece.