Athens having second thoughts about acquiring French UAVs

[Safran Electronics & Defense]

Athens is reevaluating its determination to get French-made Patroller drones to conscionable the Greek Army’s needs for surveillance and accusation gathering, and is considering alternate options, Kathimerini understands. 

Although the programme has not been canceled yet and the procurement process is still underway, officials with cognition of the developments estimation that the margins for acquiring the French unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) are narrowing.

The reasons for the 2nd thoughts are, connected the 1 hand, the agelong delays and problems successful the installation of the Link-16 terminal, which is required for the Patrollers to get interoperable features – a capableness that Athens had acceptable arsenic a indispensable condition.

On the different hand, the French authorities itself cancel its ain bid from shaper Safran Electronics & Defense connected April 8, aft six years of delays, adjacent raising doubts astir the drone’s operational capabilities, with French subject commanders stating that it is too slow, too large, and too easy detectable by the physics warfare systems present used successful modern battlefields.

The Hellenic Army Aviation, which procured 4 Patroller UAVs done the NATO Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA), expected the transportation of the archetypal drone successful precocious 2024. The €55 cardinal declaration for the supply of the drones was signed connected June 19, 2023, however, by the extremity of 2025 lone 1 prototype UAV had completed formation tests.

This information reinforced Athens’ interest regarding the effectiveness of the drone, with subject sources pointing retired the hazard that by the clip it is integrated into operational units it will beryllium considered obsolete.

In addition, the cancellation of the ample French bid raises concerns successful Athens regarding the support of the level and the anticipation of securing spare parts and consumables. Apart from Greece, there did not look to beryllium immoderate involvement from different planetary customers for these UAVs. Sources, however, constituent retired that for the ISR (Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance) missions that the General Staff wants to cover, the Patroller remains a satisfactory choice.