Greece outlines defence shakeup, drone plans

ATHENS: Greece said on Thursday that it would shake up its defence forces to economise funds and sideline older weapons in favour of drones after lessons drawn from Ukraine.

Defence Minister Nikos Dendias told a parliamentary defence committee that the military would introduce four different drone systems, merge army units and boost its cyberwarfare 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.

Government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis said the reform was the “greatest ever in the history of the Greek state in the field of national defence”.

Greece´s air force aims to have about 200 aircraft, mainly French-made Rafales and US-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 modernised, and the navy is working with the United States on new Constellation-class frigates and the European Union on a new patrol corvette.