According to a report in the Ta Nea newspaper, the first four unmanned aerial vehicles were assembled in Larissa, while the rest arrived from American bases in Europe, ready to go operational. Two MQ-9 Reapers have previously operated in Larissa, but they were older generations, and their mission was to monitor areas of northern Africa at the time.
This time, the USA sent eight drones with their operating platforms and personnel, although they are operated outside Greece. The new UAVs have a radius of 1,850 kilometres and will operate in the Aegean and the wider area of the eastern Mediterranean. The deployment was conducted as part of an agreement signed on November 1 between the US European Command (EUCOM) and the Greek army under the US-Greece Mutual Defence Cooperation Agreement (MDCA), which was signed by Greek Foreign Minister Dendias and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Washington on October 14, 2021.
The Greek armed forces are negotiating the purchase of three UAVs. On July 5 2022, the Greek Parliament approved the acquisition of 3 MQ-9B SeaGuardian UAVs and two ground stations.
