List of equipment of the Hellenic Army

The heavy equipment and weaponry of the Hellenic Army is of mostly foreign manufacture, from German, French, American, British 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 as no funds are available for upgrade. Russian made equipment was received or purchased after the collapse of the Warsaw Pact and second hand US and German equipment was transferred or purchased.

Recent Defense spending cuts have had a big impact in operating costs (maintenance, technical support, operational training, transport and supplies). As 80% of the budget is spent on salaries and administrative costs the Hellenic Army faces the challenge of reorganizing its structure. This may lead to closing down some of the 500 military bases scattered across the country and reducing the size of the Army, transforming the Hellenic Army into a smaller but largely professional force.

Under the Force Structure 2005-2020 plan large-scale changes in the Army will be implemented. Only two categories of units will exist: active and mobilized (reserve). No main weapon systems will be allocated to mobilized units.

Small Arms and Infantry Support Weapons

Firearms

Weapon Caliber Origin Notes
Pistols and Submachine Guns
Colt M1911A1 .45 ACP  United States Service Pistol.
HK USP 9x19mm NATO  Germany/ Greece Made under license by EAS [1]
Glock 17 9×19mm NATO  Austria Used by special forces and marines
HK MP5 9×19mm NATO  Germany/ Greece Multiple active variants, made under license by EAS
HK MP5SD 9×19mm NATO  Germany/ Greece MP5 variant with an integral suppressor . Made under license by EAS .

Used by special forces

HK MP7 4.6×30mm  Germany Used by special forces
FN P90 FN 5.7×28mm  Belgium Used by special forces
Assault Rifles, Battle Rifles and Carbines
HK G3A3/G3A4 7.62×51mm NATO  Germany/ Greece Service Rifle. Made under license by Ellinika Amyntika Systimata (EAS) (English—"Hellenic Defense Systems"),[2] formerly under EBO ("Hellenic Arms Industry").[3]
M16A2/M16A3 assault rifle 5.56×45mm NATO  United States Used by Hellenic ground forces and navy .
M4 carbine 5.56×45mm NATO  United States Used by special forces / Navy
Close Quarters Battle Receiver 5.56×45mm NATO  United States Used by special forces / Navy
FN FAL PARA 7.62×51mm NATO  Belgium Used by reserved forces
M14 7.62×51mm NATO  United States Used by Hellenic Navy
Sniper Rifles
G3A3ZF 7.62×51mm NATO  Germany/ Greece Made under license by EAS
M110 Semi-Automatic Sniper System 7.62×51mm NATO  United States Used by special forces / Navy
Kefefs 7.62×51mm NATO  Greece Used by special forces, produced locally
Steyr SSG 7.62×51mm NATO  Austria Used by special forces
Barrett M82A1M 12.7×99mm NATO  United States/ Greece Used by special forces and marines
Barrett M95 12.7×99mm NATO  United States Used by special forces
Machine Guns
HK 11A1 7.62×51mm NATO  Germany/ Greece Magazine-fed light machine gun. Made under license by EAS
FN MINIMI 5.56×45mm NATO  Belgium/ Greece Light machine gun, replacing HK11. Made under license by EAS
FN MAG 7.62×51mm NATO  Belgium General-purpose machine gun
MG3 7.62×51mm NATO  Germany/ Greece General-purpose machine gun. Made under license by EAS
M60 7.62×51mm NATO  United States General-purpose machine gun
M2HB 12.7×99mm NATO  United States Heavy machine gun
Shotguns
Benelli M4 12 Gauge  Italy Used by special forces for CQB
Grenade Launchers
M203 40×46mm  United States Designed to be attached to a rifle
M79 40×46mm  United States Single-shot, shoulder-fired, break-action grenade launcher
HK GMG 40×53mm  Germany/ Greece Automatic grenade launcher. Made under license by EAS
MK19 Mod3 40×53mm
  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 rifles. They would replace the G3 as the Army's service rifle. 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

Quantity Weapon Origin Notes
Anti-tank Guided Missile Launchers
196 9M133 Kornet E  Russia ATGM
366 BGM-71 TOW II  United States ATGM all incorporated into M-901 ITV's
400 MILAN  France/ West Germany ATGM, most MILAN I systems have been upgraded to MILAN II
262 9M111 Fagot  Soviet Union ATGM
Anti-tank Recoilless Rifles
1,988

Carl Gustaf M2 Recoilless Rifle

  Sweden 84 mm / all of Carl Gustaf M2s are to receive thermal imaging systems made by EAS
1,291 M40 recoilless rifle  United States 106 mm / mounted on Jeeps
135 LRAC 89 mm STRIM  France 89 mm
Anti-tank Rocket launchers
18,706 RPG-18  Soviet Union 64 mm
10,841 M72A2 LAW  United States 66 mm
Heavy Mortars - 100 mm and above (CFE treaty caliber limit)
120 E56-E 120 mm Mortar  Greece 120 mm
Made by the Greek weapons manufacturer Ellinika Amyntika Systimata
624 M30  United States 4.2 in (106.7 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  Greece 81 mm
Made by the Greek weapons manufacturer Ellinika Amyntika Systimata
125 Hirtenberger M6C-210  Austria/ Greece 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
  • The Kornet anti-tank guided weapon system is fitted to 4×4 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 3000 M113s and variants, many of these have been transferred from other NATO armies through CFE.
  • Netherlands donated almost 170 M-30 4.2 in mortars due to CFE restrictions.
  • 19,793 RPG-18 [64-mm] bought from Germany in 1993

Land vehicles and heavy armament

Main Battle Tanks

Quantity Type Origin Notes
170 Leopard 2A6 HEL  Germany/ Greece 120 mm gun. Delivered between 2006 and 2009. Built in Greece by ELBO under license from Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW).[4]
183 Leopard 2A4  Germany 120 mm gun
501 Leopard 1A5/GR  Germany 105 mm gun
400 M48A5 MOLF (Modular Laser Fire Control System)  United States 105 mm gun.They are only used on the islands in the Aegean Sea
  • In 1981, Greece ordered 106 Leopard 1A3 GR MBTs plus four armoured recovery vehicles, delivered between 1983 and 1984. Almost 170 Leopard 1Vs were donated by the Netherlands in 1991.
  • In 2003, the Hellenic 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. A few Leopard 2A4 tanks have been equipped with a 105 mm cannon for training purposes (to exploit the existing large stock of 105mm ammunition), though quick restoration of the original L44 120 mm cannon is possible. Another 98 Leopard 1A5 tanks were delivered as an offset of the total Leopard 2 HEL procurement package.
  • At least 312 M-60A3 were in active service in 2009. M-60 tanks are 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. At least 350 M60 tanks of the Hellenic Army could be donated to Iraq.
  • As of 2004, Hellenic 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, Greece was interested in buying M1 Abram's tanks, from US stocks. However, the deal was cancelled because Greece did not have enough funds available.

Armored combat vehicles/carriers and unarmored vehicles

There is a CFE treaty limit of 2,498 [5]

Quantity Weapon Origin Notes
Armored Infantry Fighting Vehicles (AIFVs)
70 BMP-1P Ost  Soviet Union Converted to ZU-23 carriers
491 Leonidas II  Greece \  Austria Made by the Greek vehicle manufacturer ELBO including 90 upgraded Leonidas 1
1,985 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)
257 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
362 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
249 M577A2  United States Armored command vehicle, based on M113
Armored Wheeled Vehicles
242 VBL  France Various versions
695 HMMWV  United States/ 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  Germany/ Greece Made under License by ELBO -Various Versions
148 KrAZ-255B  Ukraine Using as a transport vehicle and also can carry a PMP folding bridge
160 Oshkosh  United States 8×8 Truck
320 HEMTT  United States M985, M977 and M987P1 variants. Donated by the US in 2014
73 MTVR  United States/ Greece Built under license by ELBO -Mk 27 version active
150 M35 2½ ton cargo truck  United States A2
120 MAN  Germany 6×6, 8×8 Truck
850 Steyr  Austria/ Greece Trucks made under License by ELBO (Type: Steyr 12M18)
110 Unimog  Germany Various Versions
? Tatra  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.

Artillery

CFE treaty limit: 1,920 (calibers > 100 mm) [6]

Quantity Weapon Origin Notes
Rocket artillery
36 M270 MLRS  United States 12×227 mm
152× MGM-140A ATACMS Block 1 are also available.
116 RM70  Czechoslovakia 40×122 mm
Self-propelled artillery
104 M110A2  United States 203 mm L40 to be phased out upon completion of the other programs . Still in service due to the large stock of ammunition available .
24+1 PzH 2000  Germany 155 mm L52.
12 M109A5  United States 155 mm L39
223 M109A3GEA2  United States 155 mm L39. 223 M109GEA2 with all the modernized systems including the AURORA system. The AURORA program includes many improvements over the M109A3/M109A5/A6 Paladin. It can also be linked to the other artillery systems including the PzH-2000GR or act autonomously.
50 M109A3GEA1  United States 155 mm L39
82 M109A2  United States 155 mm L39
51 M109A1B  United States 155 mm L39
Towed artillery
445 in storage M101  United States 105 mm L22
18 Mod-56 pack howitzer  Italy 105 mm L14
Counter-battery radar / Observation
3 ARTHUR (military)  Norway/ Sweden Radar-system
10 AN/TPQ-36  United States Radar-system
8 AN/TPQ-37  United States 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 from 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 17 February 2010. Once deliveries of the 223 howitzers is completed all towed artillery in the Hellenic Army will be withdrawn, with the exception of 18 M56 Pack guns.
  • The Hellenic Army has 24 PzH 2000 155mm systems, delivered between July 2003 and June 2004.

Air Defense Systems

Quantity Weapon Notes
Air Defense - Missile Systems
42 MIM-23B Improved HAWK - Phase III PIP 7 batteries × 6 missile launchers each
Medium range
84|5 battalions| 4 batteries each except the 5th containing 5, under the command of 182-tor brigade based in Kommotini | TOR-M1
120 | 6 battalions |5 batteries each, based on the eastern islands of aegean under the command of ASDEN | SA-8 Gecko
54 ASRAD-HELLAS With 426 FIM-92 Stinger Block 1 missiles.
VSHORADS
476 FIM-92B/C Stinger-POST & Stinger Block 1 MANPADS
Air Defense - Gun Systems
506 ZU-23-2 2× 23×152 mm (B)
285 Mk20 RH-202 2× 20×139 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 1993 Germany gave 12 Osa surface-to-air cvs, meaning 3 batteries.Russia later sold another 20 Osa-AKMs batteries in 1998 and another 7 batteries as an offset for the purchase of the tor-m1 systems.
  • 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 based on Leopard-2 chassis.
43 Leopard-1 ARV based on Leopard-1 chassis.
95 M88A1 Armored Recovery Vehicle of the Patton tanks family.
81 ? M578 The M578 uses the same chassis as M107 self-propelled gun and M110 self-propelled howitzer.
Armored Demining Vehicles
50 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
Boeing AH-64 Apache United Statesattack helicopterAH-64A+
AH-64DHA		19
9		One AH-64DHA crashed on 20 September 2016 during an exercise.
Boeing CH-47 Chinook United Statestransport helicopterCH-47DG/SD24 (+6)Six ex-US Army CH-47D on order to be delivered in 2018, to a total fleet of 30 Chinooks
NHI NH90 Europetransport helicopterNH-90 TTH13 (+7)Seven remain on order; pending deliveries to be completed in 2017-2018 period with four of them to be of SPEOPS configuration [8] for Special Forces usage. Together with the CH47s they will eventually partially replace older helicopters like the Bell 205 and AB 205.
Bell 205 United States
 Italy		utility helicopterUH-1H Iroquois
AB 205		25
62		Ex US Army. To be partially phased out in favor of more modern helicopters entering service and when all 20 NH90s and 30 CH47s will be active .
AB205 built by Agusta . To be also partially phased out when all 20 NH90s and 30 CH47s join active service .
Bell 206 Italyutility helicopterAB 206B-314Built by Agusta
Bell 212 ItalyVIPAB 212 VIP1Built by Agusta
Cessna 185 United StatesutilityU-17A13To be decommissioned
C-12 Huron United StatesVIP/photo recon aircraftC-12R3
SAGEM Sperwer Francereconnaissance UAV16Light drones
Schweizer 300 United Statestraining helicopter300C17
Bell OH-58 Kiowa  United States military helicopter OH-58D 70 Seventy ex-US Army helicopters to be delivered with twenty four of them to be used for training purposes; expected delivery during autumn 2018.[9]
  • 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 more new Boeing CH-47D Chinooks. As of November 2017 and following recent additions, the Greek inventory counts 24 CH-47DG/SD Chinooks in total.
  • In 1995, 20 AH-64A+ were purchased. In 2003 Greece signed a contract for 12 AH-64D Longbow.
  • The Army is looking to introduce reconnaissance UAVs in the Hellenic Amry Aviation to replace the C-12 and Cessna 185 in the immediate future . The Greek made Pegasus 2 is a notable contender with the SPERWER which is currently in use with the Signals branch also being a contender for the army aviation UAV program .

Historical equipment

References

  1. ↑ "EBO 9 mm EP7 pistol (Greece), PISTOLS". Jane's Information Group. 2001-04-25. Retrieved 2009-05-22.
  2. ↑ Hellenic Defense Systems
  3. ↑ "Personal infantry weapons: old weapons or new hardware in the coming decades? - Free Online Library". Thefreelibrary.com. Retrieved 2013-08-23.
  4. ↑ "Leopard 2 HEL images and info". Retrieved 6 July 2008.
  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 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.
  8. ↑ "Η νέα Αεροπορία Στρατού". Retrieved 28 January 2016.
  9. ↑ "US gifts Greece Kiowa scout helicopters". Jane's 360. Retrieved 11 January 2018.
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