https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/greece-buys-armed-drones-to-challenge-turkey-in-eastern-mediterannean-wj0qg0d5w
Greece buys armed drones to challenge Turkey in eastern Mediterannean
Greece is to buy a fleet of American and Israeli armed drones which could be used against similar Turkish assets already deployed to the eastern Mediterranean as Ankara prepares to exploit extensive oil and gasfields under the sea.
Athens is buying three US drones and two others from Israel. Nikos Panagiotopoulos, the defence minister, told parliament last night that the drones could be used to “immobilise” their hostile Turkish counterparts in the event that they enter Greek airspace. “Rules of engagement have already been charted by [our] country’s armed forces . . . to confront potential threats to our sovereignty . . . including [action] to immobilise Turkish drones,” he said.......
The deployment of a new drone to northern Cyprus, a state recognised only by Ankara, has unnerved Greece. Tensions between the two countries intensified after Turkey and Libya agreed this month to carve up part of the eastern Mediterranean, waters recognised as sovereign territory of Greece and the Republic of Cyprus......
The deal between Tripoil and Ankara, which
the EU and other regional neighbours have declared illegal, has put Greece’s armed forces on heightened alert. But it has also sparked a rift between the civilian and military leaders in Athens over how to respond to Turkey’s exploration plans in the eastern Mediterranean. Ankara has said it will plunder
oil and gasfields off the coast of Greece’s biggest and wealthiest island Crete.
Mr Panagiotopoulos today sought to ease such concerns insisting that the country was both capable and prepared to “do whatever it takes to defend its national sovereignty”.