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The heavy equipment and weaponry of the Hellenic Army is of mostly foreign manufacture, from German, French, American, British and Russian suppliers. A notable exception is the Leonidas armored fighting vehicle which is built in Greece by the Hellenic Vehicle Industry.

Equipment runs the gamut from state-of-the-art to obsolescent Cold War inventories; the latter are gradually being retired.

Small Arms and Infantry Support Weapons[]

Firearms[]

Weapon Caliber Origin Notes
Pistols and Submachine Guns
Colt M1911A1 .45 ACP United States Service Pistol.
HK P7 9 mm Luger Flag of Germany Germany Made under license by EAS [1]
Glock 17 9x19 mm NATO Flag of Austria Austria Used by special forces and marines
HK MP5 9x19 mm NATO Flag of Germany Germany Made under license by EAS
Assault Rifles, Battle Rifles and Carbines
HK G3A3 7.62x51 mm NATO Flag of Germany Germany/Flag of Greece Greece Service Rifle. Made under license by Ellinika Amyntika Systimata (EAS) (English—"Hellenic Defense Systems"),[2] formerly under EBO ("Hellenic Arms Industry").[3]
M16A2 assault rifle 5.56x45 mm NATO United States Used by special forces / Navy / ISAF Forces in Afghanistan.
M4 carbine 5.56x45 mm NATO United States Used by special forces / Navy
FN FAL PARA 7.62x51 mm NATO Flag of Belgium (civil) Belgium Used by reserved forces
M14 7.62x51 mm NATO United States Used by Hellenic Navy
Sniper Rifles
Kefefs 7.62 x 51 mm NATO Flag of Greece Greece Used by special forces, produced locally
Barrett M82A1M 12.7 x 99 mm NATO United States Used by special forces and marines
Barrett M95 12.7 x 99 mm NATO United States Used by special forces
Machine Guns
HK 11A1 7.62x51 mm NATO Flag of Germany Germany/Flag of Greece Greece Magazine-fed light machine gun. Made under license by EAS
FN MINIMI 5.56x45 mm NATO Flag of Belgium (civil) Belgium/Flag of Greece Greece Light machine gun, replacing HK11. Made under license by EAS
FN MAG 7.62x51 mm NATO Flag of Belgium (civil) Belgium General-purpose machine gun
MG3 7.62x51 mm NATO Flag of Germany Germany/Flag of Greece Greece General-purpose machine gun. Made under license by EAS
M60 7.62x51 mm NATO United States General-purpose machine gun
M2HB 12.7 x 99 mm NATO United States Heavy machine gun
Grenade Launchers
M203 40x46 mm United States Designed to be attached to a rifle
M79 40x46 mm United States Single-shot, shoulder-fired, break-action grenade launcher
HK GMG 40x53 mm Flag of Germany Germany/Flag of Greece Greece Automatic grenade launcher. Made under license by EAS
MK19 Mod3 40x53 mm
United States Automatic grenade launcher in use by Special Forces
  • Greece signed a contract with Heckler and Koch, for 112.270 5,56 mm G36 assault rifle. They would replace G-3 assault rifles as standard rifle of the Army, meaning Greece will adopt 5.56 mm caliber. The rifles would be assembled locally by Hellenic Defence Systems (EAS). However the purchase has been frozen and the soldiers continue to use the current G3 rifle.

Infantry Support Weapons[]

  • The Kornet anti-tank guided weapon system is fitted to 4x4 vehicles. Greece has 196 launchers with 1100+ missiles, in service as of 2008.
  • 36 M270 MLRS transferred from United States of America to Greece between 1995 and 2001.
  • Greece operates over 3.000 M113's and variants, many of these have been transferred from other NATO armies through CFE.
  • Netherlands donated almost 170 M-30 107mm mortar due to CFE restrictions.
  • 19.793 RPG-18[64-mm] bought from East Germany stocks in 1993

Land Vehicles and Heavy Armament[]

Quantity Weapon Origin Notes
Anti-tank Guided Missile Launchers
196 9M133 Kornet E Flag of Russia Russia ATGM
366 BGM-71 TOW II United States ATGM
400 MILAN Flag of France France/Flag of Germany West Germany ATGM Most of MILAN I have been upgraded to MILAN II
262 9M111 Fagot Flag of the Soviet Union Soviet Union ATGM
Anti-tank Recoilless Rifles
1,988

Carl Gustaf M2 Recoilless Rifle

Flag of Sweden Sweden 84 mm
1,291 M40 recoilless rifle United States 106 mm / some of them are mounted on Jeeps
1,346 M67 recoilless rifle United States 90 mm
135 LRAC 89 mm STRIM Flag of France France 89 mm
Anti-tank Rocket launchers
18,706 RPG-18 Flag of the Soviet Union Soviet Union 64 mm
10,841 M72A2 LAW United States 66 mm
Heavy Mortars - 100 mm and above (CFE treaty caliber limit)
316 E56 120 mm Mortar Flag of Greece Greece 120 mm
Made by the Greek weapons manufacturer Ellinika Amyntika Systimata
624 M30 United States 107 mm
256 in use on the M106A1/A2 AMC
Medium and Light Mortars - below 100 mm (CFE treaty caliber limit)
690 E44-E 81 mm Mortar Flag of Greece Greece 81 mm
Made by the Greek weapons manufacturer Ellinika Amyntika Systimata
125 Hirtenberger M6C-210 Flag of Austria Austria 60 mm
Produced by the Greek weapons manufacturer Ellinika Amyntika Systimata under license from Hirtenberger of Austria.
1,616 M1 United States 81 mm
In storage
  • In 1981 Greece ordered 106 Leopard 1A3 GR MBTs plus 4 armoured recovery vehicles, delivered between 1983 and 1984. Almost 170 Leopard 1V were donated by the Netherlands in 1991.
  • In 2003 the Greek army ordered 170 new Leopard 2A6 HEL (Hellenic), to be jointly produced by the German Krauss Maffei and the Greek ELVO firms and delivered between 2006 and 2009.
  • In 2005 Greece purchased 333 used tanks: 183 Leopard 2A4s and 150 Leopard 1A5 main battle tanks from Bundeswehr reserves. This raised the number of Leopard 1 tanks in Greek service to almost 350, and added Leopard 2A4 tanks to Greece’s inventory. Leopard 2A4 tanks have been quipped with a 105 mm cannon for training purposes (to exploit the existing large stock of 105mm ammunition), allowing quick restoration of the original L44 120 mm cannon. Another 98 additional Leopard 1A5 tanks were delivered as an offset of the total Leopard 2 HEL procurement package.
  • AMX-30B2 currently in reserve, and some units sold to Cyprus.
  • At least 312 M-60A3 were in active service in 2009.M-60 tanks supposed to be scrapped, sold or retired, as Leopard tanks are replacing them and CFE limit restricts the total number of tanks in service. United States transferred to Greece in 1992-93 358 M60A1 and 312 M60A3 tanks. Greece has donated at least 13 M60A3 tanks to help bolster Afghan tank platoons and may increase this number to almost 50 additional tanks. At least 350 M60 tanks of the Greek Army could be donated to Iraq.
  • As of 2004, Greek Army tank drivers are mostly professionals, but conscripts are still trained as tank drivers,as well as in all other tank crew stations.
  • In 2011, the USA offered 400 used M1 Abrams tanks to Greece. As of 2013, 90-115 tanks are expected to be delivered to Greece with upgrades worth 200-400 million dollars.

Armored Combat Vehicles/Carriers and Unarmored Vehicles[]

Quantity Type Origin Notes
CFE treaty limit: 1,735
170 Leopard 2A6 HEL Flag of Germany Germany/Flag of Greece Greece 120 mm gun. Delivered between 2006 and 2009. Built in Greece by ELBO under license of Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW).[4]
183 Leopard 2A4 Flag of Germany Germany 120 mm gun
501 Leopard 1A5/GR Flag of Germany Germany 105 mm gun
390 M48A5 MOLF (Modular Laser Fire Control System) United States 105 mm gun
Quantity Weapon Origin Notes
CFE treaty limit: 2,498 [5]
Armored Infantry Fighting Vehicles (AIFVs)
350 BMP-1P Ost Flag of the Soviet Union Soviet Union Bought from Germany.
491 Leonidas II Flag of Greece Greece \ Flag of Austria Austria Made by the Greek vehicle manufacturer ELBO including 90 upgraded Leonidas 1
1,789 M 113A1/A2 United States Armored Personnel Carrier
3 M125A1 AMC United States Armored mortar carrier, based on M113.
Equipped with the M29 (81 mm) mortar.
Armored Mortar Carriers - 100 mm and above (CFE treaty caliber limit)
256 M106A1/A2 AMC United States Armored mortar carrier, based on M113.
Most vehicles are equipped with the M30 (107 mm) mortar but 120 will be equipped with the E-56 (120 mm) mortar.
Armored ATGM Carriers
290 M901/M901A1 ITV United States Armored BGM-71 TOW carrier, based on M113
12 M113 TOW United States M113 vehicle mounting a BGM-71 TOW launcher.
Armored Command Vehicles
80 M577A2 United States Armored command vehicle, based on M113
Armored Wheeled Vehicles
243 VBL Flag of France France Various Versions
695 HMMWV United States/Flag of Greece Greece Various Versions - Some ex-US Army surplus. Others are new M1114GR made by ELBO under license.
Unarmored Wheeled Vehicle
8,300 Mercedes-Benz G-Class Flag of Germany Germany/Flag of Greece Greece Made under License by ELBO -Various Versions
148 KrAZ-255B Flag of Ukraine Ukraine Using as a transport vehicle and also can carry a PMP folding bridge
160 Oshkosh United States 8x8 Truck
150 M35 2½ ton cargo truck United States A2
120 MAN Flag of Germany Germany 6x6, 8x8 Truck
850 Steyr Flag of Austria Austria/Flag of Greece Greece Trucks made under License by ELBO (Type: Steyr 12M18)
110 Unimog Flag of Germany Germany Various Versions
? Tatra Flag of the Czech Republic Czech Republic
  • The first version of the 'Leonidas' was the Austrian Saurer 4K 4FA Armored Personnel Carrier built with minor local modifications, built from 1981 until 1987. The 'Leonidas-2' involved extensive modification of the previous model, with the aim to essentially develop it as an Armored Infantry Fighting Vehicle (AIFV). 503 Leonidas vehicles of both versions delivered to Greece and 197 to Cyprus.
  • All M-113 vehicles in the Hellenic Army have been upgraded to or acquired with at least the A1 modifications.
  • Germany sold 501 BMP-1 infantry fighting vehicles, formerly operated by East Germany.They have been retired due to lack of spare parts
  • Greece had the intention to donate some of its 500 BMP-1 to the Iraqi Army. 36 refurbished BMP-1 were delivered in November 2005 and 64 BMP-1s in December 2006.
  • The Panhard VBL was acquired after the need for armored reconnaissance vehicles was identified by the Army's involvement in peacekeeping operations.
  • In 2009 the Greek government decided to buy 415 BMP-3M infantry fighting vehicles. 35-50 BMP-3F and some BREM-L vehicles would be transferred from Russian stocks, too. As of early 2012 the contract is frozen

Artillery[]

CFE treaty limit: 1,920 (calibers > 100 mm) [6]
Rocket Artillery
36 M270 MLRS 12x227 mm
152x MGM-140A ATACMS Block 1 are also available.
116 RM70 40x122 mm
Self-propelled Artillery
145 M110A2 203 mm L40 to be phased out upon completion of the other programs
24+1 PzH 2000 155 mm L52.
12 M109A5 155 mm L39
223 M109A3GEA2 155 mm L39. 223 M109GEA2 with all the modernized systems including the AURORA system. Note that the AURORA PROGRAM includes many improvements over the M109A3/M109A5/A6 Paladin. It can also be linked to all the other artillery systems including the PzH-2000GR or act autonomously.
50 M109A3GEA1 155 mm L39
82 M109A2 155 mm L39
51 M109A1B 155 mm L39
Towed Artillery
266 in storage M114A1 155 mm L23
445 in storage M101 105 mm L22
18 Mod-56 pack howitzer 105 mm L14
Counter-battery Radar / Observation
3 ARTHUR (military) Radar-system
10 AN/TPQ-36 Radar-system
8 AN/TPQ-37 Radar-system
10 Stendor Radar-system
? Decca D-110 Radar-system
40 BOR A-550 Radar-system
20 MARGOT XXL Camera-Observation-system
  • 150 Second-hand Slovak-made RM-70 Grad multiple rocket launchers purchased in Germany in 1993, after the end of Cold War. 116 have been used in active service since then, the rest used for spares.
  • In 2008 talks started with Germany for the transfer of 223 surplus German M109A3GE-A2 howitzers to Greece. The deal was signed on the 17th of February 2010. Once deliveries of the 223 howitzers is completed all towed artillery in the Greek Army will be withdrawn, with the exception of 18 M56 Pack guns.
  • The Greek Army has 24 PzH 2000 155mm systems, delivered between July 2003 and June 2004.

Air Defense Systems[]

 
Air Defense - Missile Systems
42 MIM-23B Improved HAWK - Phase III PIP 7 batteries x 6 missile launchers each
Medium range
21 TOR-M1
39 SA-8 Gecko
54 ASRAD-HELLAS With 426 FIM-92 Stinger Block 1 missiles.
VSHORADS
150 FIM-92B/C Stinger-POST & Stinger Block 1 MANPADS
Air Defense - Gun Systems
506 ZU-23-2 2x 23x152 mm (B)
285 Mk20 RH-202 2x 20x139 mm
Air Defense - Radar
3 Casta 2E1 Surveillance radar
5 P-19 radar Surveillance radar
  • In 2000 the Hellenic Army decided to procure 54 vehicle-mounted ASRAD-HELLAS systems. A modular missile system featuring high firepower for day and night operation, each ASRAD-HELLAS weapon system carries four ready-to-fire Stinger missiles and holds an additional four missiles ready for a fast reload. The system is operated by a 2-man team, consisting of the driver, who has the secondary task of air space observer, and the operator of the weapon system.
  • The 23 mm ZU-23 lightweight, automatic, towed antiaircraft gun entered the Army arsenal after years of service with the East German army.
  • The Artemis 30 was originally developed in 1982, to protect all branches of the Armed Forces from medium and low level attack aircraft.
  • With units entering service both from East German and Russian sources, the 9M33 Osa (SA-8) short range surface to air missile system was acquired to maximize the protection offered to Army units. In the mid-1990s Germany sold 13 Osa surface-to-air missile. The Greek government requested its upgrade as the Osa-AKM. The Russians later sold another 16 Osa-AKMs. Greece was so pleased that also ordered 31 Russian-made Tor-M1 (SA-15) short-range surface-to-air missiles under 1999 and 2000 contracts.
  • Greece bought the S-300 anti-aircraft and anti-missile system, deciding not to purchase the Patriot PAC-3 anti-ballistic missile interceptor system. The Greek government, realizing that the United States would not allow it to buy the Russian missile system and the Patriot PAC-3, asked Cyprus to buy the S-300. Turkey protested and blocked Cyprus from buying Russia's S-300. Patriots PAC-3 are operated by the Air force, 350th Guided Missile Wing.
  • Hellenic Hawk Phase II Upgrade Program brought in 1995 Greek 42 Hawk launchers (7 batteries) to updated version. Ten launchers later updated to more updated version in 1999.

Other Armored Vehicles[]

 
Medical Evacuation Vehicles
54 M 113A1 MEDEVAC
70+ Humvee Ambulance
? Mercedes-Benz G-Class Ambulance
Armored Vehicle-launched Bridges
8 Leopard-1 Leguan Armored Vehicle-launched Bridge based on Leopard-1 chassis.
10 Leopard-1 Biber Armored Vehicle-launched Bridge based on Leopard-1 chassis.
12 M60A1 AVLB Armored Vehicle-launched Bridge based on M60A1 chassis.
22 M48A5 AVLB Armored Vehicle-launched Bridge based on M48A5 chassis.
Armored Recovery Vehicles
12 Leopard II BUFALO HEL Armored Recovery Vehicle based on Leopard-2 chassis.
43 Leopard-1 ARV Armored Recovery Vehicle based on Leopard-1 chassis.
95 M88A1 Armored Recovery Vehicle of the Patton tanks family.
Armored Demining Vehicles
10 Leopard-1V MP Armored Demining Vehicle based on Leopard-1 chassis. Gun was removed (in order to comply with CFE treaty limits on number of MBTs) and a Full Width Mine Plough (FWMP) from Pearson Engineering was added.

Aircraft[]

Aircraft Origin Type Versions In service[7] Notes
Bell 205 United States
Flag of Italy Italy
utility helicopter UH-1H Iroquois
AB 205
26
62
Ex US Army
AB205 built by Agusta
Bell 206 Flag of Italy Italy utility helicopter AB 206B-3 14 built by Agusta
Bell 212 Flag of Italy Italy VIP AB 212 VIP 1 built by Agusta
Boeing AH-64 Apache United States attack helicopter AH-64A+
AH-64DHA
19
10
13 to be upgraded to D (+7)
Apache Longbow
Boeing CH-47 Chinook United States transport helicopter CH-47DG/SD 15 +10
Cessna 185 United States utility U-17A 14
NHI NH90 Flag of Europe Europe transport helicopter 7 13 on order
C-12 Huron United States VIP/photo recon aircraft C-12R 3
SAGEM Sperwer Flag of France France reconnaissance UAV 4 16 drones
Schweizer 300 United States training helicopter 300C 17
  • The Army is looking to replace AB-205 and UH-1 helicopters in the immediate future.
  • Greece bought ten CH-47Cs for the Army, nine of which were later upgraded by Boeing to the CH-47D standard. In 1999 Greece bought seven New Boeing CH-47D Chinooks. As of November 2008, Greece had 15 CH-47DG/SD Chinooks in use.
  • In 1995 20 AH-64A+ were purchased. In 2003 Greece signed a contract for 12 AH-64D Longbow.

Historical equipment[]

References[]

  1. "EBO 9 mm EP7 pistol (Greece), PISTOLS". Jane's Information Group. 2001-04-25. http://www.janes.com/extracts/extract/jiw/jiw_0072.html. Retrieved 2009-05-22. [dead link]
  2. Hellenic Defense Systems
  3. "Personal infantry weapons: old weapons or new hardware in the coming decades? - Free Online Library". Thefreelibrary.com. http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Personal+infantry+weapons%3A+old+weapons+or+new+hardware+in+the+coming...-a09037642. Retrieved 2013-08-23. 
  4. "Leopard 2 HEL images and info". http://greekmilitary.net/greekmbtanks.htm. Retrieved 2008-07-06. 
  5. According to the CFE treaty, the Armored Combat Vehicles category includes Armored Personnel Carriers (APCs), Armored Infantry Fighting Vehicles (AIFVs), and Heavy Armament Combat Vehicles. Heavy Armament Combat Vehicles includes vehicles that were not MBTs, APCs or AIFVs but have an integral gun of at least 75 millimeter (mm) caliber and weight at least 6 tons.
  6. According to the CFE treaty, the Artillery category includes guns, howitzers, mortars, multiple launch rocket systems, and artillery pieces that combine the characteristics of guns and howitzers.
  7. "World Military Aircraft Inventory", Aerospace Source Book 2007, Aviation Week & Space Technology, January 15, 2007.


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The original article can be found at List of equipment of the Hellenic Army and the edit history here.

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