Greece is building a permanent support base for military V-BAT drones on the island of Rhodes, according to a report by the newspaper Ta Nea, as part of a wider reshaping of the country's defense infrastructure in the Dodecanese.
The new facility, planned for Maritsa airport in Rhodes, will make Rhodes the second Greek base for military drones after Skyros, strengthening the surveillance and intelligence-gathering network in the eastern Aegean, the report said.
The Greek defense ministry has already approved a direct-award procurement procedure for the materials needed to build the fixed infrastructure at Maritsa, according to Ta Nea. The facility is intended to support the permanent stationing, maintenance and operational running of the specialized V-BAT unmanned aircraft unit.
The project is moving forward despite continued objections from Turkey, whose officials have argued that Greek islands in the area are subject to an obligation of demilitarization. Athens maintains that reinforcing its defenses on its own territory is a sovereign right available to any state.
From temporary positions to a permanent base
Until now, V-BAT drones have operated from temporary dispersal positions on Rhodes, relying on their vertical takeoff and landing capability, which allows them to fly without a conventional runway.
Growing demands for long-duration surveillance missions, real-time data transmission and technical support have made a permanent base necessary, according to the report. The Maritsa facility is expected to provide greater operational readiness and a more continuous presence in the area.
To speed up construction, the defense ministry decided to split the work among four separate local contractors on Rhodes, Ta Nea reported.
Patriot battery moved from Karpathos to Crete
The Rhodes project is not an isolated move but part of a broader, ongoing repositioning of Greece's air defenses across the eastern Mediterranean.
As part of that wider reorganization of the country's anti-aircraft capabilities, the transfer of a Patriot missile battery from Karpathos to Crete was completed on Sunday, August 23. The system has been incorporated into the defense array at Souda, on Crete, to strengthen protection of critical military and strategic installations on the island.
The relocation is part of the Greek armed forces' overall plan to adapt to changing geopolitical conditions in the eastern Mediterranean, according to the report.
Saudi Arabia Patriot mission under review
At the same time, the future of Greece's Patriot missile mission in Saudi Arabia is under consideration.
According to Ta Nea, the defense ministry is weighing whether to propose to the Government Council for Foreign Affairs and Defense, known as KYSEA, either a short extension of the mission or the definitive withdrawal of the Greek systems from Riyadh.
The review is tied to shifting alignments in the Middle East, particularly Saudi Arabia's rapprochement with Turkey and Pakistan through what is referred to as the "Mecca Pact." That cooperation is creating new dynamics in the region, the report said, while Turkey appears to be seeking to expand the arrangement further by trying to bring in Egypt.
Riyadh's own handling of technical issues connected to the mission has also played a role in cooling relations and speeding up the return process, according to the report. Saudi authorities flatly refused to fund the upgrade and modernization of the Greek Patriot systems, which have been stationed in the Yanbu area with the sole purpose of providing missile defense for critical energy infrastructure and refineries there.
Athens watching Israel-Turkey tensions
Greek officials are also closely following rising tension between Israel and Turkey.
A recent visit by the chief of the Hellenic National Defence General Staff to Israel, which took place during a period when Israeli forces had carried out strikes near Turkey, highlighted the level of cooperation and interoperability between the two sides, according to the report.
Greek military and diplomatic authorities are monitoring developments closely, Ta Nea reported, as more assessments warn of a real risk that the confrontation could spread, if it escalates and widens, even to the occupied areas of Cyprus.
