Greece outlines defense shakeup, drone plans

ATHENS

Greek Defense Minister Nikos Dendias

Greece has said it will shake up its defense forces to save money and sideline older weapons in favor of drones after lessons drawn from Ukraine.

Among the main changes in the radical overhaul is the creation of an anti-air and anti-drone defense dome covering the whole of Greece, according to government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis.

Defense Minister Nikos Dendias told a parliamentary defense committee that the military will introduce four different drone systems, merge army units and boost its cyber-warfare potential.

Greece has to deal with a "different reality" and "quickly" upgrade its forces for 21st-century requirements, he said.

"Every army unit will have anti-drone capabilities," he said.

Spokesman Marinakis said the reform was the "greatest ever in the history of the Greek state in the field of national defense.”

Greece's air force aims to have about 200 aircraft, mainly French-made Rafales and U.S. -made F-16 Vipers and F-35s.

It will be "the strongest air force Greece has ever had,” Dendias said.

Greek frigates will be equipped with a Greek-made anti-drone system that has already seen action against Houthi rebels in the Red Sea, he added.

Older Greek warships and submarines are being modernized and the navy is working with the U.S. on new Constellation-class frigates and the EU on a new patrol corvette.

Greek naval shipyards stand to gain up to seven billion euros ($7.4 billion) in military orders over the next decade, he said.

For the touted air defense dome, Greece is considering reinforcing its current capabilities with new weapons, drones and radar systems to replace some obsolete equipment, according to a source close to the matter.

Nothing has yet been decided, but potential markets for the purchase of this equipment include Israel, France, Italy and Norway, the source said.

The Greek financial website newmoney reported at the end of October that Greece was looking to buy air and missile defense systems on the Israeli market at a cost of 2 billion euros.

To rationalize the stationing of army units, the ministry will shut down over 130 camps by next year.

Greece faces a potential threat from a foe "nine to 10 times" its size that has two satellites while Greece has none of its own, Dendias said of Türkiye.

The goal is to save 2 billion euros over 10 years, he said, with full details of the plan to be revealed after the Christmas break.