The U.S Air Base at the 110th Fighter Wing in Larissa in central Greece has created new conditions in terms of surveillance in the Aegean, as the sophisticated MQ-9 Reaper, the most advanced in unmanned aerial vehicle ( UAV ) technology, will take off and operate.

The first four of these UAVs arrived in Greece in crates and were assembled in Larissa while the next ones arrived ready for operational action from other U.S bases in Europe.

As protothema.gr has written, the Greek Armed Forces are negotiating to buy three such UAVs.

The MQ-9 Reaper had operated in the past from Larissa but they were of an older generation and were tasked with monitoring areas of North Africa with an emphasis on the Yemeni area due to the ongoing civil war there.

These UAVs can operate for a much longer time than the Turkish Bayraktar TB2 can stay in flight. At the same time, although they do not carry missiles, they have the ability, if required, to carry air-to-ground and air-to-air missiles. They can also monitor the “enemy” by transmitting in real time the image of the field to the operations centers, collect information, but also participate in search and rescue operations, having the ability to remain without refueling in the air for up to 48 hours and radius of action up to Cyprus.

As NEA reports, these unmanned aircraft have a radius of action of 1,850 kilometers, which means that they can monitor areas from the Black Sea to the top of the Aegean and the wider area of ​​the Eastern Mediterranean, covering the zone of the illegal Turkish-Libyan memorandum.

It is noted, finally, that this deployment has a duration of one year, which can be extended for another year after negotiations.