38 · MT 2/2023 Nations in Focus: Greece A Greek Leopard 1A5 mine sweeper. The Greek large fleet of tank would require replacement, and so specialized versions. launched by Chancellor Olaf Scholz in mid-2022. It is aimed at supplying states with German weapons in exchange for their weapons that they would send to Ukraine. In exchange of German vehicles, the government in Athens agreed to transfer the same number of its ex-Soviet BMP-1A1s to Ukraine (Greece is ready to transfer even 100 vehicles, but has not received assurances from Germany that they will transfer an equal number of Marders). This is therefore a multilateral success – Ukraine, which is fighting for survival, is to receive vehicles that it knows how to operate. Germany, which is reluctant to supply weapons to Kyiv, did so indirectly. Greece, on the other hand, got rid of its old Soviet equipment and received, undoubtedly old vehicles, but still better than BMP-1s. Greek Marders have been deployed near the Turkish border in service with the 12th Mechanized Infantry Division (“Evros”). They will serve alongside Leopard 2A6HEL tanks. It has been rumored that Greece could purchase two additional batches of Marderss, with 100 vehicles per batch. However, this seems unlikely as the Marder is widely considered to be only a temporary solution. In February 2023, Greek Defense Minister Nikolaos Panagiotopoulos, in response to questions from parliamentarians about technical modernization, admitted that Greece intends to buy Rheinmetall’s KF41 Lynx AIFVs. In total, Greece is believed to be interested in 205 vehicles. At the same time, Athens is set to receive up to 350 second-hand M2A2 Bradley vehicles in the ODS (Operation Desert Storm) variant from the stocks of the US Army and National Guard. In this context, it is also worth noting that in April 2022, Nexter Systems and Hellenic Defense In November 2021, the Hellenic Army was presented with a modernized version of the RM-70 rocket launcher by the Czech company Excalibur Army during demanding tests, including live firing. Changes to the launcher include a new weapon control and aiming system, a fire control system with a ballistic computer, new inertial navigation with GPS, communication, and the ability to control the weapon system directly from the vehicle cabin or remotely. It has not been ruled out that the RM-70s could be replaced by Serbian (Yugoimport SDPR) LRSVM Tamnava 122/267 mm wheeled (8x8) rocket launchers, which are based on Kamaz 6560 chassis. This system has a declared range of up to 70 km and has already been selected by Greece‘s close ally, the Republic of Cyprus. The staff of the Hellenic Army General Staff was presented with the TAMNAVA system last year. Infantry fighting vehicles The most important recent procurement in this field is the acquisition of the Rheinmetall Marder 1A3 AIFVs from the Bundeswehr‘s reserves. They have been overhauled by Rheinmetall at its Unterlüß facility. The first batch of six vehicles was delivered by the company in mid-October 2022 and displayed during a Hellenic Armed Forces’ parade in the city of Thessaloniki. As of mid-February 2023, Greece has received 14 Marders. Deliveries of 40 vehicles in total are planned to be completed by the end of 2024. Both the company and the German Bundeswehr have also provided an ammunition package, spare parts, as well as training and other services. It is assumed that in the future, Greek Marder 1A3s might be upgraded to a more advanced 1A5 variant. These vehicles would be then armed with guided anti-tank missile launchers. This deal has significant and interesting international context. It was carried out under the “Ringtausch” governmental project, which was A RM-70 Vampire on the move. Artillery has been indicated amongst the priorities for ground forces by the defence ministry. An M-113 during an exercise. These vehicles will remain in service for a long time, and probably will undergo further obsolescence removal programmes. f
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTM5Mjg=