EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: Greece is not generally considered a country with a burgeoning defense industry, but 2020-21 saw it execute a remarkable turnaround.
To some, the phrase “Greek defense industry” is an oxymoron. One would hardly associate Greece with high-tech weaponry that can be exported abroad, and with good reason. From 2007 to 2012, Greece was the biggest importer of armaments in the EU, according to SIPRI’s online data. During the Debt Crisis (2009-18), the country’s bankrupt state-owned defense industries became a source of discord between the Troika and Athens.
Yet the Greek defense industry was the star at the DEFEA defense exhibition in July 2021. Not only did Greek defense companies proudly showcase their made-in-Greece high-tech weaponry alongside other established defense exporters (e.g., Israel), but they signed contract after contract. How did the Greek defense industry accomplish this spectacular turnaround?
The surprising turnaround
And yet, the Greek defense industry executed a tour de force in 2020. From a state of decay, the sector emerged into a state of stabilization.
Despite fierce (and not entirely fair) competition against the European defense giants, the Greek defense companies (the majority of whom are privately owned) secured almost a third of upcoming programs under the EU’s PESCO.
They will participate in five of the 16 projects under the European Defense Industrial Development Program (EDIDP) along with over 180 participants from other EU countries. Those projects are:
- LOTUS (a low visibility drone)
- DECISMAR (an upgraded maritime surveillance system)
- ESC2 (an improved command-and-control system)
- PANDORA (improved cyber-defense)
- SMOTANET (next-generation internal communications)
They will also participate in one of eight research projects in the context of the Preparatory Action on Defense Research (PADR):
- PRIVILEGE (encryption of sensitive military data)
In other words, these Greek defense companies not only competed successfully against their far bigger counterparts but also achieved significant industrial synergies with the latter. And synergies in the defense sector can prove invaluable for the Greek defense ecosystem.