At least three years in the making, and through industrious and coordinated efforts between the State and Armed Forces are required for the mass production of Greek-made drones, even if the urgent EU rearmament initiatives and the new, technological revolution signalled by their widespread use in Ukraine have radically changed the theatre of war at the dawn of the 21st century. Despite strong and bipartisan political will, the antiquated institutional framework, multi-layered bureaucracy, lack of digital infrastructure, lack of certification and the existing structure of the Armed Forces are unable to speed up the processes, at a time when the defense industry has become a global export for neighboring Turkey.

Indicative of the pace of response of the state apparatus to the modern challenges of the defense industry was the fact that 31 companies came forward early this week to submit bids to the Hellenic Defense Innovation Center (ELKAK S.A.), under the call for expressions of interest for the Development of Unmanned Surface-to-Sea Vessels (USV) of two (2) designs, multiple configurations, submitting multi-page dossiers with hundreds of documents, including tax and insurance certificates.

Behind the… paper war is not only the absence of a digital register of Greek defense technology companies, but primarily the rigidities of Law 3978/2011 (“Procurement of defense equipment for the Armed Forces”) as amended and in force, which require the acquisition of weapon systems for the Greek Armed Forces through donation or tender. In the second and usual case, however, 2-3 years are required until a contractor is selected through tender, and provided that no appeals to legal remedies, such as objections and administrative appeals, have intervened, which raises the time for selecting a contractor up to five years.

In case things go somewhat smoothly and without any particular comments from the Audit Court, the contractor will have lost two years of preparation, when for other types of supplies, such as bedding for the Greek Armed Forces, the procedures run much faster, due to the provisions of Law no. 4412 and the National System of Electronic Public Procurement ESIDES, the digital platform that “runs” public procurement. Although the international example is well known and provides for a fast-track procedure, especially in cases of crises, such as in the US through “urgent operational needs” or in Israel, where the country’s defence industry operates under a special regime, with minimal bureaucracy and with provision for “emergency needs”. At the same time, the tendering procedure for the supply of defence equipment in Greece excludes cases of direct awards, but only for Greek companies, as the relevant restrictions are lifted if agreements are concluded with foreign companies within the framework of transnational agreements.

And even if the institutional framework and bureaucracy “breaks” the procedures, the degree of readiness of the Greek Armed Forces for the integration of new technologies in the field of defense remains a question, despite the ambitions that derive from the New Structure of the Armed Forces. In the present time, the use of unmanned aerial vehicles requires a certification diploma, which even permanent and combatant officers of the Greek Armed Forces acquire through training in the private sector at high cost, as it is not provided as part of their service, and even if the pilots are found, it is not certain that they will secure… a firing range.

Specifically, although the closest specialty to the existing ones for arming drones is that of Firefighters, there is, however, no such procedure provided for in the service, according to current standards. Moreover, even in that ideal scenario where the Greek Armed Forces would be able to obtain tomorrow drones by the hundreds, for their testing a relevant permit is required from the DGAEE, in order for it to make available, upon the relevant (written) request, a firing range for the testing of unmanned aerial vehicles, so that the relevant tests can be carried out by members of the Armed Forces and the manufacturer of each time.

In this circumstance, the “war of drones” finds Greece with limited domestic development and high dependence on imports, while Turkey is building advanced UAVs (TB2, Akinci) and developing new ones with advanced combat capabilities and AI use (Kizilelma), specialized in offensive missions beyond surveillance, for which the approximately 82 Greek ones available are sufficient. All the more so when the export network for Turkish UAVs stretches to more than 30 countries and while Ankara is now developing advanced systems for countermeasures, such as Steel Dome.