Upgraded Greek air base serves growing interest for US drones

MILAN, Italy — Several U.S. MQ-9 Reaper drones have found a new base in the newly upgraded Larissa air base in Greece, as American military officials keep an eye on NATO’s southern and eastern borders.

Work on the base near the eastern shores of the Aegean Sea proceeded during much of 2022. It was slated to include new maintenance shelters, ramps and taxiway extensions, with a local construction contract for $21 million due to finish in recent weeks.

This modernization tallied with the arrival of a number of Reaper unmanned aerial vehicles at the Greek airfield, as reported by the Greek Reporter in late November. A spokesman for the U.S. Air Forces in Europe-Africa confirmed the arrival to Defense News, saying”the U.S. and Greece worked together to ensure the Larissa base had the capabilities” to support the MQ-9s.

“Larissa Air Base is a strategic location, allowing the MQ-9s to easily support both the eastern and southern flanks of NATO,” the spokesman said. “The move [to place them there] is not in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, but this placement does support deterring and avoiding conflict with Russia.”

Officials declined to specify the number of drones based at the installation, citing operational security, though local reports have described eight.

Their deployment was authorized under amendments made to the U.S.-Greek Mutual Defense Cooperation Agreement (MDCA) going back to 1990. Among the changes, most recently agreed in 2021, Washington is now allowed to carry out at both Larissa Air Base and Stefanovikio Army Aviation Base the following missions: operation, maintenance and support of U.S. maritime patrol and reconnaissance aircraft, some technical ground processing, as well as sustainment and support of airlift and logistics support, including tanker aircraft.

The Greek military itself also is trying to get its hands on MQ-9 drones. Athens submitted a program for the acquisition of three of these systems to its Parliamentary Arms Committee, which was approved in July 2022.

Elisabeth Gosselin-Malo was a Europe correspondent for Defense News. She covers a wide range of topics related to military procurement and international security, and specializes in reporting on the aviation sector. She is based in Milan, Italy.

意大利米兰——几架美国MQ-9“死神”无人机在希腊新近升级的拉里萨空军基地找到了新的基地，美国军方官员正密切关注北约的南部和东部边界。

2022 年大部分时间里，位于爱琴海东岸附近的基地建设工作都在进行中。该基地计划建设新的维修棚、停机坪和滑行道延伸段，一份价值 2100 万美元的当地建筑合同已于最近几周完成。

据《希腊记者报》11月下旬报道，此次现代化改造恰逢一批“死神”无人机抵达希腊拉里萨机场。美国驻欧洲-非洲空军发言人向《防务新闻》证实了这一消息，并表示“美国和希腊共同努力，确保拉里萨基地具备支持MQ-9无人机的能力”。

发言人表示：“拉里萨空军基地地理位置优越，MQ-9无人机可以轻松支援北约的东翼和南翼。部署这些无人机并非为了应对俄罗斯入侵乌克兰，但此举确实有助于威慑和避免与俄罗斯发生冲突。”

官方以行动安全为由，拒绝透露该基地部署的无人机数量，但当地报道称有八架。

他们的部署是根据1990年《美希共同防御合作协议》（MDCA）的修正案授权的。在最近于2021年达成的修正案中，华盛顿现在被允许在拉里萨空军基地和斯特凡诺维基奥陆军航空基地执行以下任务：操作、维护和支持美国海上巡逻和侦察飞机，一些地面技术处理，以及维持和支持空运和后勤保障，包括加油机。

希腊军方也在努力获取MQ-9无人机。雅典方面已向议会武器委员会提交了一份采购三套此类系统的计划，该计划于2022年7月获得批准。

伊丽莎白·戈斯林-马洛曾任《防务新闻》欧洲通讯员。她的报道涵盖军事采购和国际安全等广泛领域，尤其擅长航空领域的报道。她常驻意大利米兰。