News

2023-06-04

Latest Weaponry, Major Accords Drive DEFEA 2023 Success

The second edition of DEFEA - Defence Exhibition Athens 2023, held from May 9 to May 11 at the Metropolitan Expo, Athens, suc-cessfully concluded with significant representation from the giants of the global defence industry. A total of 346 exhibitors from Greece and abroad presented cutting-edge weapon systems to visitors from 78 countries.

Additionally, a multitude of professional meetings (B2B) took place during the exhibition, resulting in the signing of significant agree-ments between domestic and international defence industry companies.

With the participation of 55 official delegations, led by Ministers and Deputy Ministers of Defence, Chiefs of Armed Forces and General Staffs, Directors of Defence Services, and executives from renowned global defence industries, the exhibition served as a clear testa-ment to Greece’s heightened role.

Industrial Cooperation

During DEFEA 2023, several major industrial cooperation agreements were signed that enhanced Greece’s role and contributed to its economy and development.

These included the acquisition of leading Greek electronics company Intracom Defense (IDE) by Israeli company Israel Aerospace Indus-tries (IAI), the agreement between Greek company EODH (Engineering Office Deisenroth Hellas) and German company KMW (Krauss-Maffei Wegmann) for the production of armour for Norwegian Leopard battle tanks, the cooperation agreement between German com-pany AUTOFLUG GmbH and the Greek-German consortium ALTHOM GmbH and ALTHOM Engineering E.P.E, as well as the signing of an agreement between the Hellenic Ministry of National Defence and French company MBDA for the support of the long-range SCALP EG missiles of the Hellenic Air Force.

Through this year’s DEFEA 2023, Greece found itself positioned at the forefront of international interest in the fields of Defence, Security, and the Defence Industry.

Minister of National Defence, Nikolaos Panagiotopoulos, accompanied by Deputy Minister of National Defence, Nikolaos Chardalias, and the Chief of the Hellenic National Defence General Staff, General Konstantinos Floros, visited the exhibition booths.

Panagiotopoulos held important meetings with counterparts who attended DEFEA, including the Italian Minister of Defence, Guido Cro-setto, Cypriot Minister of Defence, Michalis Giorgallas, and the Minister of Defence of North Macedonia, Slavjanka Petrovska. These meet-ings focused on international geopolitical developments and bilateral defence interests, further reinforcing Greece’s presence in de-fence diplomacy.

Nikolaos Chardalias signed a memorandum of understanding with his Slovak counterpart, Marian Majer, and met the official military dele-gations from Armenia, Ghana, and the United Arab Emirates.

Major Exhibitors

Here’s an overview of some major exhibitors who participated at DEFEA:

MBDA

European defence company, MBDA, showcased its latest missile systems and advanced defence technologies.

As part of its ongoing partnership with the Hellenic Navy, MBDA continued to engage in contracting projects with Greek companies, par-ticularly related to the supply of the Defence and Intervention Frigates (FDI HN). Collaborations with AKMON S.A., Miltech Hellas S.A., and SSA S.A. were established for the production of electronic equipment, cables, and integration activities on board the FDI.

MBDA expanded its cooperation by signing additional contracts with SSA S.A. and the Polytechnic University of Athens (NTUA) in rapidly advancing fields such as artificial intelligence.

MBDA is seeking to develop additional research and development (R&D) projects to ensure the long-term viability of its cooperation with Greek partners. The idea is to integrate them into MBDA’s supply chain from the research and study phases of products and services, leading to jointly marketed “Made in Greece” products and services on the global market.

Eric Béranger, CEO of MBDA, said: “In addition to manufacturing activities, and as part of the R&D Booster initiative, MBDA is looking for-ward to expanding its cooperation with Greek industrial partners to develop new products that can be jointly introduced worldwide.”

Leonardo

Italian multinational company Leonardo demonstrated its diverse range of defence technologies at the show. The company showcased helicopters, combat aircraft, maritime patrol aircraft, radar systems, and avionics solutions.

Starting with the Kronos family, with over 40 examples in service all over the world — including Europe, the Middle East, Asia-Pacific and South America — in both land and naval variants, fixed and/or mobile versions, the radars perform multiple functions simultaneously. The radars use the same sensor to perform different operational missions —from surveillance, to tracking, to the designation of aerial targets.

The most recent of the family, the Kronos Grand Mobile High Power, has been chosen for the NATO range based on the island of Crete: it will be delivered in 2024 and will serve as an integrated air and missile defence system, guaranteeing the Hellenic Air Force and allies high levels of aviation safety during training and testing of other systems.

An AW139 helicopter of the Italian Coast Guard was also present at the event. The AW139 is the most successful international multi-role helicopter programme since its certification in 2004.

BAE Systems

BAE Systems presented diverse and significant defence and security solutions on land, at sea and in the air. The focus was on BAE Sys-tems’ existing partnerships and technologies proven in theatre across Europe and the world.

From the future of electronic warfare with Storm EW to the world’s leading infantry fighting vehicle, the CV90, from innovative head-up displays for pilots to naval ships and from munitions to electric propulsion for municipal transport, heavy-duty and military vehicles, the BAE Systems team in Athens showcased the breadth of the company’s capabilities.

The company’s display featured a full-scale CV90 infantry fighting vehicle, as well as exhibits on upgraded Mk45 naval guns, the M109 self-propelled howitzer, APKWS laser guidance kit and the Assault Amphibious Vehicle — and supporting training and sustainment — alongside the Hypervelocity Projectile (HVP) munition and naval ship solutions.

In the field of aviation, BAE Systems showcased the digital light engine-enhanced head-up display and the advanced electronic warfare system known as Storm EW. Storm EW provides cutting-edge electronic warfare capabilities to combat aircraft, such as the F-16, enhanc-ing their ability to detect and counter enemy radar signals and communication systems.

BAE Systems presented a range of additional capabilities on their interactive digital presentation system, offering comprehensive training and sustainment activities across domains.

IAI

One of the most important developments was the acquisition of the leading Greek electronics company Intracom Defense (IDE) by Isra-el’s IAI. The final agreement was signed by the company’s president Sokratis Kokkalis.

IAI exhibited a wide range of systems with an emphasis on aerospace systems, civil aviation and more. IAI stresses comprehensive oper-ational solutions — systems of systems, for a wide range of uses in the air, sea, land, space and in the cyber domain.

IAI focussed on promoting communication and local cooperation with local government agencies, defence forces, local industries and academic initiatives, in order to further expand the company’s activity in the region.

Diehl Defence

Diehl Defence representatives were available to welcome visitors from armed forces, government agencies and industrial organisations, discussing the company’s capabilities and products, of which ground-based air defence systems (GBAD), missiles, counter-UAS protec-tion systems and ammunition were presented at the stand.

Diehl Defence has a long-lasting relationship with Greece, particularly through the countries’ involvement in the development and pro-duction of the short-range air-to-air missile IRIS-T. Greece was the first of seven partners in the IRIS-T consortium to sign all required doc-uments for launching the programme in the 1990s.

IRIS-T has been a success factor ever since, now being operational with many air forces worldwide on a number of platforms, such as the Eurofighter Typhoon, SAAB Gripen, F-16, F-18 and F-5.

The missile and its technology have been adapted for ground-to-air applications, namely the ground-based air defence systems IRIS-T SLS and IRIS-T SLM from Diehl Defence.

The IRIS-T SLS (Surface Launched System) and IRIS-T SLM (Surface Launched Medium-range) are air defence missile systems.

Most recently at the end of last year, Diehl Defence CEO Helmut Rauch met Nikos Kostopoulos, CEO of Hellenic Defence Systems (HDS), to sign a cooperation agreement for work on GBAD systems, based on the common IRIS-T experience. The agreement paves the way for further technological and industrial collaboration on IRIS-T SLS and IRIS-T SLM.

Rheinmetall

Rheinmetall presented its Lynx KF41 Infantry Fighting Vehicle, a strong contender for the modernisation of the mechanised brigades of the Hellenic Armed Forces. The Lynx KF41 is Rheinmetall’s answer to the requirements of future battlefields and offers superior capabili-ties in terms of survivability, lethality, mobility as well as command and control.

The Lynx KF41 is one of the most advanced infantry fighting vehicles on the market.

The Lynx KF41 concept comprises a complete family of vehicles consisting of the common drive module and flexible mission modules in numerous variants. This allows each basic vehicle to be configured, for example, as an infantry fighting vehicle, air defence system, com-mand vehicle or medical vehicle.

The mission module can be changed between variants throughout the life of the platform. By making the drive module identical, this system significantly reduces lifecycle costs and also allows military users to adapt force structures or develop new capabilities in a short time to react to changes on the battlefield.

Lynx KF41 is characterised by high levels of survivability, mobility and combat power, as well as high growth potential, including in terms of total weight and power consumption.

The Lance 2 turret has powerful sensor systems to exploit the capabilities of the associated next-generation 30mm programmable ammunition fired by its main MK30-2/ABM autocannon and the advanced Spike LR2 anti-tank missile system.

Elbit Systems

Elbit Systems exhibited a wide range of products and systems at its booth with both visual and interactive displays.

The company displayed a portfolio of accurate rockets, including the 40km Accular, 150km EXTRA and 300km Predator Hawk. Also on display were the GATR (Guided Advanced Tactical Rocket), REST (Range Extension and Smart Tail) guidance kit for general purpose war-heads and SPEAR fully autonomous, vehicle-mounted 120mm soft recoil mortar system for high-mobility platforms. The Precise & Uni-versal Launching System, PULS, capable of launching a range of rockets and missiles, as well as local and foreign made rockets were also on display.

The company offered combat proven General Purpose Bombs, delivering advanced capabilities with configurations for 500, 1000, and 2000-pound advanced warheads.

Elbit Systems also showcased the SkyTouch end-to-end, multifunctional Planning, Command and Control solution.

The SkyTouch gathers and analyses vast amounts of data to create a complete and accurate aerial Common Operational Picture that can be distributed to the entire chain of command- to increase threat-detection probability and enable optimal real-time operational response.

U.S. Participation

The historically high level of Greek-American relations, as reflected in the signing of the renewed Mutual Defence Cooperation Agree-ment and the speech of the Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis at the Congress, was confirmed by the significant presence of U.S. companies at DEFEA 2023.

The U.S. Army participated in the exhibition with some of the most advanced weapon systems it possesses, which are at the forefront of operations both in the war zones of Ukraine and in other areas of the world, and some of which are also in the scope of the Greek Armed Forces.

The U.S. Army presented the M270 MLRS (Multiple Launch Rocket System) in its most modern version, the A2, which features a new fire control system allowing the use of precision ammunition, a 600 hp engine, upgraded transmission system, and improved cabin armour.

The U.S. Army also showcased the powerful M1134 TOW Carrier ATGM (Anti-Tank Guided Missile Vehicle) from the Stryker family of vehi-cles, a modern Armoured Fighting Vehicle (AFV) that is used as the primary anti-tank weapon and has remarkable capabilities against ar-moured threats as it is equipped with Tube-Launched, Optically Tracked, Wireless-Guided (TOW) missiles.

Distinguished Line-up

Overall, DEFEA brought together a distinguished line-up of major exhibitors from the defence industry. Their participation demonstrated the industry’s commitment to innovation, collaboration, and providing effective solutions for the evolving defence needs of nations worldwide.

DEFEA helped create significant opportunities for the development of the domestic defence industry and strengthened the country’s defence and diplomatic footprint, laying the foundation for an even more successful event in May 6-8, 2025.

Reference Text/Photo: www.defea.gr

Comments () Views (7017 ) Print

Send To Friend