Greece

January 10, 2024

Background

In 1964, Greece and several other NATO countries signed the “Multilateral Agreement” for use and operation of the NATO Missile Firing Installation (NAMFI) at Crete, Greece’s largest island. The agreement established Greece as one of NATO’s leaders in air and missile defense, a status that the country maintains today, and Greece is one of only five NATO nations with deployed Patriot air and missile defense systems.

In commitment to NATO’s integrated air and missile defense, Greece has acquired a diverse range of air and missile defense capabilities, which provide the country a malleable defense against various threats.


Greece’s Ballistic Missile Defense Capabilities

System Operator Number Deployed Role
MIM-104 Patriot/PAC-2 (GEM-T) Greece Six batteries Short-range terminal ballistic missile defense
S-300P Greece Unknown Short-range terminal ballistic missile defense

Greece’s Air Defense Capabilities

System Role Number Deployed Platform
MIM-104 Patriot/PAC-2 (GEM-T) Medium- to long-range air defense Six batteries Ground-Based; Road-Mobile
ESSM Medium-range air defense Deployed on four Hydra-class frigates Hydra-class frigates
Sea Sparrow Missile Short-range air defense Deployed on nine Elli-class frigates Elli-class frigates
Phalanx CIWS Short-range air defense Deployed on four Hydra-class frigates and nine Elli-class frigates Hydra-class and Elli-class frigates
S-300 Long-range air defense Unknown Ground-Based; Road-Mobile
9K33 Osa (SA-8 Gecko) Short-range air defense Unknown Ground-Based; Road-Mobile
Tor-M1 Short-range air defense Unknown Ground-Based; Road-Mobile
Rheinmetall Twin AA Gun MK-20 Short-range air defense Unknown Ground-Based
VELOS Short-range air defense Unknown Ground-Based; Road-Mobile
Crotale Short-range air defense Unknown Ground-Based; Road-Mobile
FIM-92 Stinger Short-range air defense Unknown Man-Portable
Artemis 30 Short-range air defense Unknown Ground-Based

Current Developments

NAMFI, under the administrative control of Greece’s Hellenic National Defense General Staff, is used by Germany, Greece, and the Netherlands to conduct live firings with air and missile defense platforms. Conducted under realistic tactical scenarios, these live firings increase operational confidence in the systems and improve the interoperability of NATO’s air and missile defense infrastructure.

In February 2021, Greece announced a deal with missile producer MBDA to purchase Meteor missiles to be armed on Rafael aircraft.


Recent News

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Sources

[i] https://theaviationist.com/2014/01/12/greece-fires-s300/