Greece installs Israeli-made devices against Turkish drones
Yorgo Kırbaki – Athens
Greek forces have started to install military devices that can allegedly cloud the vision of Turkish drones, according to daily Kathimerini.
An article published on July 1 in the newspaper read that Greece is “in the final step” of forming an “umbrella” against Turkish drones.
According to the article, this so-called umbrella is being installed in great secrecy and consists of Israeli-made “Drone Dome” system.
The Greek article states that the Drone Dome system is made in a way that suits the specific needs of Greece and the geography of the islands and other bordering areas.
“These military devices have the capability of disorienting the flight plans of TB-2 ’Bayraktar’ and ANKA-S when they are on missions,” it said.
“They can blind unmanned aircraft (UAVs) and drones, it added.
In the past, there was news in the Greek media that negotiations were held with the Israeli manufacturer Rafael for the purchase of “Drone Domes.”
It was stated that these military devices were able to detect early, due to their 360-degree radar, and they could interrupt the communications of UAVs with their central stations with the interference they spread.
The flights carried out by the Turkish UAVs in the Aegean for approximately two and a half years, have caused grave problems in Greece’s military planning.
In an article published in the Greek daily Ta Nea, it was stated that Turkish UAVs can monitor both the movements of Greek warships in the Aegean and the Greek defense points on the islands almost every day.
Turkish drones have also become a serious economic problem for Greece.
The Hellenic Air Force is launching their F-16 warplanes to “detect” and “repulse” Turkish UAVs. While each flight of Greek F-16s cost thousands of euros, Turkish UAVs fly at a low cost.
Meanwhile, Greece will also purchase three “MQ-9” type UAVs from the U.S.
The cost of MQ-9 type UAVs is around 400 million euros. The letter of intent for the purchase of the said UAVs was sent to the U.S. in February.
It has not yet been decided whether to renew the contract for the deployment of two Heron-type UAVs on the island of Skiros in the central Aegean, which will expire next year. The drones were leased from Israel for 40 million euros for three years.
Developed by the Israeli Rafael Advanced Defense Systems and introduced for the first time in 2016, the “Drone Dome” military devices are used to protect strategic places like airports, which can be targeted by UAVs and drones.
Israel is deploying these systems against drone threats that may come from Shiite Hezbollah, Palestinian Hamas, Islamic jihad organizations and Iran. However, it has been reported that Drone Dome devices are also used outside of Israel.
It was claimed that the British army temporarily brought the Drone Dome devices to London Gatwick Airport on December 2018, upon detecting unidentified UAVs, but it was later reported that only domestic devices were flying.
It is not possible for Greece to neutralize Türkiye’s UAVs with electronic warfare devices which emit interference under all circumstances.
If the area and route used are predetermined, the aircraft returns to the point where it left off without the need for additional commands from the ground after taking off. Therefore, it staves “off” external signal interference.
A risk situation may occur if there is a continuous exchange of commands between the station and the UAV.
