The close cooperation between Greece and France in the fields of defence and intelligence continues unabated as Athens proceeds with the purchase of drones from Paris.
This has delighted the French MoD, whose head said the move was about "a Europe that defends Europe".
French Defence Minister Sebastien Lecornoux welcomed Greece's decision in a Twitter post, writing the following:
"I welcome Greece's decision to order 4 Patroller drones from SAFRAN. Recognition of French expertise with this first export order. For a Europe that defends Europe".
The UAV Patroller is designed to perform intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions. It can be used for external operations as well as for internal security and maritime surveillance missions, says manufacturer SAFRAN.
The Patroller is equipped with the high-resolution Euroflir 410 EO/IR pod, combined with a COMINT (COMmunication INTelligence) sensor or a synthetic aperture radar (SAR) moving target detection (MTI) radar. Based on this configuration, the Patroller helps protect troops on the battlefield. It provides data on tactical situations while conducting electronic warfare (EW) operations.
For maritime surveillance missions, the Patroller is equipped with multi-mode surveillance radar, allowing the detection of long-range maritime activity over a wide area. This version also includes an Automatic Identification System (AIS) to perform vessel classification. The final identification is carried out with the Euroflir 410.
The French UAV has a flight autonomy of 15 hours and can carry a payload of 210 kg at a speed of 100 to 200 km/h. The visual and SATCOM range is 180 km and 1,000 km.
As we wrote yesterday in Pentapostagma, the Greek Armed Forces are preparing for the battle of the Aegean as the Turks are constantly testing the UCAV Kizilelma, upgrading the Air Force's UAV Sperwer through Safran Electronics & Defense.
The Hellenic Army has selected Safran Electronics & Defense to upgrade the Greek Army's drone fleet with four new Patroller tactical drones to be added to the country's current Sperwer drones, a statement said.
A significant development is the signing (through NSPA) of the upgrade program for the 4 SPERWER systems. More specifically, the upgrade involves adding to the systems a number of Class III Patroller drones, which will complement the 14 Class II Sperwer drones.
Our plan is to fill the Aegean and ourselves with powerful drones with various capabilities to make life as difficult for the Turks as possible.
