Greece approves 11 procurement programs

On Thursday, July 23, 2026, Greek Defence Minister Nikos Dendias attended a meeting of the Government Council for National Security at the Maximos Mansion, chaired by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis. Following the meeting, the Greek defence minister announced at a press conference that funding had been approved for procurement under 11 programs worth approximately 4.2 billion EUR.

Photo: Greek Ministry of Defence

The press briefing, held at the Armed Forces Officers’ Club in Athens, was attended by Chief of the Hellenic National Defence General Staff Gen. Dimitrios Choupis, Chief of the Hellenic Army General Staff Lt. Gen. Georgios Kostidis, Chief of the Hellenic Navy General Staff Vice Adm. Dimitrios-Eleftherios Kataras, and Chief of the Hellenic Air Force General Staff Lt. Gen. Dimosthenis Grigoriadis.

The approved programs, seven of which, together with their funding, were disclosed on June 11 this year, are:

1. A layered air defense system known as the Network of Missile Detection and Threat Response, comprising the Israeli SPYDER, Barak MX, and David’s Sling systems, worth more than 700 million EUR…
2. …as part of the Achilles Shield command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, and targeting system, worth approximately 3.1 billion EUR in total.
3. Two additional IAI Heron TP unmanned aircraft for 40 million EUR.
4. A constellation of high-resolution imaging microsatellites.
5. Ten additional Shield AI V-BAT vertical takeoff and landing unmanned aircraft, including six for the Hellenic Army and four for the Hellenic Navy, for 71 million EUR.
6. A batch of 3,500 night-vision binoculars to be procured through the Organisation for Joint Armament Cooperation for 76 million EUR.
7. Three Embraer C-390 Millennium transport aircraft for 600 million EUR, with an option for three more. The aircraft will be procured jointly with Portugal, with initial deliveries beginning as early as 2027.
8. A batch of ten British SubSea Craft SUPER VICTA submersible craft, including four for the Underwater Demolition Command and six for the Special Warfare Command, for 145 million EUR.
9. A batch of four sonar systems for the Hydra-class missile frigates, based on the German MEKO 200HN design, for 24 million EUR.
10. A batch of 300 AGM-114R2 Hellfire anti-tank guided missiles, also known as the AGM-114R Hellfire II or Romeo Hellfire, for approximately 125 million EUR, intended for AH-64 Apache helicopters.
11. A scholarship program enabling naval personnel to undertake specialist studies in the United States, particularly at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge.

C-390 Millenium

The most notable of the programs is the procurement of the increasingly popular Brazilian C-390 Millennium transport aircraft.

C-390 Millennium photographs from the MILMAG Archive

On January 28, 2023, South American defense outlet SA Defensa reported that the Greek government had held talks with the management of Brazilian company Embraer regarding the possible procurement of C-390 Millennium transport aircraft to replace its aging C-130B/H Hercules fleet. The U.S.-made Lockheed Martin C-130J-30 Super Hercules was reportedly considered as an alternative.

The Hellenic Air Force (Polemikí Aeroporía) has operated Lockheed C-130 Hercules medium transport aircraft since the 1970s. It initially ordered 12 factory-new C-130Hs, while in 1992 the U.S. government transferred five used C-130Bs from U.S. Air Force surplus stocks. Two aircraft were lost in accidents, and following the gradual retirement of the remaining airframes, six are currently still in service. In addition, two C-130H EW aircraft are operated in a specialized electronic warfare configuration. The fleet is supplemented by eight Leonardo C-27J Spartan light transport aircraft.

Meanwhile, on May 22 this year, Embraer signed a memorandum of understanding with Hellenic Aerospace Industry to strengthen strategic cooperation in the aerospace and defense sectors. The agreement is intended to provide the Hellenic Air Force with the operational autonomy and support required to manage a future C-390 fleet, while also developing the capabilities of the domestic industry.

Since 2014, Embraer has received orders for the C-390 Millennium from Brazil, which contracted 19 aircraft instead of the 27 originally planned; Portugal, which ordered six with an option for another 10, from which the Greek aircraft will likely be drawn; the Netherlands, with five; Austria, with four; the Republic of Korea, with three; Hungary, with two; the Czech Republic, with two; Sweden, with four and an option for seven more; an undisclosed customer, which ordered two aircraft and was initially believed to be Morocco but, according to the manufacturer’s latest information, is Uzbekistan; and the United Arab Emirates, which ordered 10 with an option for another 10. Slovakia and Lithuania also plan to order three aircraft each, although contracts have not yet been signed. In January 2026, Vilnius postponed its decision until after 2030 and instead opted to modernize its C-27J Spartan fleet for service through 2036.

The aircraft is currently being marketed in Saudi Arabia, in India together with Mahindra Group under the Medium Transport Aircraft program estimated at 40–80 aircraft, and across the broader Asian market. In cooperation with Northrop Grumman, the C-390 is also being offered in the United States as a boom-equipped aerial refueling aircraft. In total, 47 production aircraft have been ordered, of which 14 have been delivered, while the global fleet has accumulated more than 20,000 flight hours.

See also:

• Greece cleared to acquire next-generation Switchblade 300 Block 20 loitering munitions