- The program for the supply of two US MQ-9 drones worth €400 million strikes the eye. The drones cost more than a Rafale or an F-35.
- All weapons systems from Russia are being thrown away, although there was a decision to upgrade a large number of rockets. The “backbone” of air defense especially on the islands is being turned into a “black hole”.
- A further EUR 34 million will be given for the old American Kiowa helicopters, which the US has dumped on us for EUR 50 million in order to be saved from the cost of destroying them. The commission was to take 70, in the hope that 30 would be flown. Four years later it is a question of flying 5 Kiowas.
- At the same time, the depletion of the Armed Forces has reached alarming proportions. Mass resignations of officers and at the same time reluctance of young people to join the army. This year too, places in higher military schools have been left vacant. What is happening?
- In the first ten days of August alone, 43 Navy officers left the Navy!
By Paris Karvounopoulos
The blunder (?) of the Minister of National Defense Nikos Dendias in attaching to his reply to the Parliament tables with the armament programs reveals a series of options for the purchase of weapon systems that should be considered.
Some dare to call them scandalous, pointing out that the Greek economic reality does not allow the loss of a single euro for purchases that will not add anything substantial to the country’s military-operational strength. Moreover, the same tables show the complete devaluation of the Greek defense industry, since maintenance programs that can certainly be carried out in Greece are directly contracted out to foreign countries.
Worse still, reading the data contained in the tables submitted to Parliament reveals the suspicion of disarmament of Greek air defense in very critical points of Greek territory. The Russian air defense systems currently in Greece’s possession are being thrown away without any provision for their replacement! What will happen to the islands that currently have these air defense systems?

(ΓΕΝΙΚΟ ΕΠΙΤΕΛΕΙΟ ΝΑΥΤΙΚΟΥ/EUROKINISSI)
All these are not arbitrary estimates but are the result of reading the tables that Dendias has made public:
- Of the 43 programs included in the Quadrennial Armament Expenditure Planning 2023-2026 only 8 will proceed through a tender procedure. In one of them, there is a negative opinion of the Court of Auditors.
- All weapons systems from Russia or the former Eastern Bloc are being thrown away, although there was a decision to upgrade a large number of rockets. This means that the “backbone” of Greek air defense especially on the islands will be turned into a “black hole”. Nowhere does it appear that there has been any planning for the immediate replacement of these systems.
- A further EUR 34 million is to be given for the old American Kiowa helicopters, which the US has given us. The helicopters had been withdrawn and the Americans, in order to avoid the cost of their destruction, “pushed” them to Greece for 50 million. The procurement was to get 70 helicopters in the hope that 30 would fly. The rest were to be used as spare parts. Only four years later it’s a question of flying 5 Kiowas. The issue had been raised by former ND’s Minister of Defense Yannis Lambropoulos, who had raised the issue intensely in Parliament since 2021, asking why we got the helicopters and why we insist on wasting millions on their already difficult maintenance. He did not get an answer and now we see in the tables of the Ministry of National Defense, the provision of 34 million for the maintenance of a number of Kiowa helicopters. How many helicopters can be “resurrected” with this money is unknown, however, the forecasts say that to fly the 30 we had estimated would have to exceed 350 million euros!
- The project that “catches the eye”, however, is the procurement of two US MQ-9 drones from the US. The cost? Close to 400 million. 387,818,178 to be exact. According to what we have been told an F-35 now costs under 100 million, so what is the justification for the exorbitant cost of two MQ-9s from the US? Especially when it is known that the MQ-9s will only fly using satellite communications with a US satellite, so their flights and the data they collect will be fully controlled.
Furthermore, they avoid answering from the MoD if the US will release weapons for the MQ-9 and if they will deliver electromagnetic emission collection and processing equipment (COMINT/ELINT). The answer given by sources is negative to both.

(EUROKINISSI)
It should be reminded that Greece is supposed to be moving forward with two programs for the construction of UAVs. Are they moving forward? We had raised a series of questions about their “progress”…
- Odd to say the least, the insistence on paying 291,186,704 euros for second-hand AAV-7 amphibious vehicles, which the Americans withdrew after a fatal crash. Besides, these amphibians can barely fit on Greek armored ships and are too heavy for their catapults to withstand! To these objections, Special Forces officers add the fact that the scenario that tankers in a period of operations will manage to cross the Aegean Sea, reach off the coast of islands, and “throw” amphibious vehicles into the sea has been outdated for many decades. These are understandable even to non-military people, which is why the insistence on paying close to USD 300 million is strange
- Why the provision for spending 26 million on T-6 training aircraft, when the 2 billion euro contract with the Israelis, to whom we gave the Kalamata airport to build us an Air Training Centre, has been signed and is ongoing.
- There are many more questions to be answered, as in violation of laws and European directives, half of the 2019-22 procurements and the majority of those planned are intergovernmental – always more expensive – and of the remaining programs the vast majority are direct awards or are made by “inventing” the legislative initiative.
- It does not go unnoticed that there is not the slightest mention of the much-publicized F-35. If Greece goes ahead and signs an agreement, it will have to pay 350 million a year and the money is probably not there. Moreover, it seems that at this stage neither the US nor the Greek government wants to “irritate” Turkey.
- The devaluation of the Greek defense industry, which should logically benefit from the armaments programs, is also evident from the decision to transfer the Greek C-130s to Israel for maintenance. Why doesn’t HAI do the maintenance?
Conclusion: Most armament programs are tailor-made for our suppliers. The operational benefits of many very expensive weapons systems are being called into question, and all indications are that we are heading back to an armament “hodgepodge” that will do little for the Armed Forces.
Last on the list of questions and objections to the logic of absurdity in armaments is the long delay in completing fleet upgrades. Even those who are involved in the Armed Forces as a …hobby know that their big problem is their aging Fleet. The decision to acquire the Belharra has raised hopes that the problem has been understood, but the plan to strengthen the Fleet has been “halted”. Perhaps because the Navy will soon have more problems to deal with. One of them is finding crews!
The disarmament of our most important weapon
In seriousness or jest, Navy officials say among themselves that “we will have a hard time finding crews even for Belharra frigates”! No joke… In the first ten days of August alone, 43 naval officers left the Navy.
Dimitris Methenitis Lieutenant Commander active in the Navy-President of the Panhellenic Federation of Military Unions
The resignations do not only concern the Navy, but in the Navy, they “hurt” the most. The depopulation of the Fleet is shocking. The problem affects all the Armed Forces and this has added another deadly danger. Fewer and fewer young people are choosing military schools every year in the Panhellenic National Level Examinations. In recent years, vacancies in schools such as the Hellenic Army Academy are increasing. Low military salaries seem to be pushing young people away from choosing a career in the military.
Dimitris Methenitis – Lieutenant Commander
Indicative is the collapse of the cut-off marks in military schools. This year the biggest drop in the admission base was recorded by the Hellenic Army Academy, with a difference of 1,805 points compared to last year (14,025 in 2022, 12,220 in 2023). Next is the Naval Academy, with a difference of 1,781 points (14,525 in 2022, 12,744 in 2023).
Aristides Kasidopoulos – Vice President of the Panhellenic Association of Greek Soldiers
It is not an exaggeration. The most important problem that the Armed Forces are facing at the moment has nothing to do with their equipment but with their human resources. The barrage of resignations does not seem to be stopping.
Dimitris Methenitis – Lieutenant Commander
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