Greece is building its own military maritime drone program, combining domestic development with expertise drawn from MIT...

Greece is building its own military maritime drone program, combining domestic development with expertise drawn from MIT, according to Protothema. The Hellenic Armed Forces are constructing what defense officials describe as a full ecosystem for unmanned surface and underwater vehicles, not just purchasing off-the-shelf systems from abroad. The program draws a direct lesson from a 2023 incident near Lefkada, where limitations in Greece's naval surveillance and response capabilities were exposed. That event accelerated internal discussions about investing in homegrown drone technology capable of operating in the Aegean and Ionian seas. The MIT connection comes through Greek engineers and researchers who trained at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and are now contributing to the program's technical development. Officials want Greece to own the intellectual property behind these systems, which would allow for faster upgrades and prevent dependence on foreign suppliers who could withhold access during a crisis. The push comes as naval drones have reshaped modern warfare. Ukraine's use of unmanned surface vehicles against Russian Black Sea assets demonstrated their potential to change the balance of power at sea, even for a smaller military force facing a larger adversary. Greece's defense planners have been watching those developments closely. Greece currently operates a mix of foreign-supplied maritime assets, but the new program is designed to shift that balance over time. Defense procurement officials say the goal is serial production of standardized platforms that can be deployed quickly across multiple operational scenarios, from surveillance and reconnaissance to direct engagement. The program is part of Greece's broader push to increase domestic defense production, which has picked up pace since 2022 as European nations began rearming in response to the war in Ukraine. #Greece #HelleniArmedForces #DefenseNews