Work will start this year to convert an abandoned military factory north of Athens into a major plant that will build drones for land, air, marine and submarine use as well as drone-zapping systems, Defense Minister Nikos Dendias said Friday.
Speaking at a ceremony to lay the foundations of the new unit near Malakasa, Dendias said that it will boost annual production of small military drones from 4,000 to about 10,000 a year, with an additional 600 larger drones being made annually.
“Unmanned systems and anti-drone systems are a vital element of the new operational mentality,” Dendias said. “Autonomous systems in the air, at sea and on land are an organic element of the modern operational environment, in the full spectrum of missions.”
Greece has already invested heavily in foreign-made drones as part of a massive, multi-billion euro military investment drive that includes French frigates and fighter jets and US warplanes, as well as a broad, Israeli-style air defense system against missiles and drones. But Dendias stressed the importance of domestic manufacturing.
“We are a country that has an active threat levelled against it, and cannot afford to passively observe events,” he said. “We must participate, not only as purchasers and users of systems … but also as a country that produces, designs and develops” them.
