Defendory 2002 news

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EADS gains Greek air defence radar upgrade contract

By Clifford Beal, Editor, Jane’s Defence Weekly

European defence prime EADS will modernise 11 L-band air surveillance radars under a new contract to the Greek MoD valued at roughly E25 million. The 11 radars were originally supplied by Siemens between 1979 and 1986. The upgrade will consist chiefly of replacement of analogue components with digital transmit/receive modules using state-of-the-art semiconductor technology, and work will be carried out by EADS’ Systems & Defence Electronics division. Other elements of the upgrade will include new signal generation components, receivers and evaluation systems. To meet Greek offset requirements, fabrication of the modules will be subcontracted to Greek industry. Once upgraded, EADS will guarantee operation of the radars for an additional 15-year service life and, it claims, with lower associated operating costs. “The possibility to upgrade older radar systems emphasises our capabilities,” said Bernhard Gerwert, senior vice president of EADS Naval and Ground Systems. The company’s electronics division is currently involved in several major procurement programmes across Europe, particularly in the avionics and command & control areas.

Greece to get first ASRAD systems in 2003

The Greek Army is expected to take delivery of the first of 54 ASRAD (ATLAS Short Range Air Defence) systems in 2003 – a little later than originally expected. The platform for the Greek ASRAD was originally expected to be the Mercedes-Benz G-wagen (4 x 4) light vehicle, but last year a decision was made to utilize the AM General HMMWV (4 x 4) chassis for this role. The Greek ASRAD will use the European built Raytheon Stinger fire-and-forget surface-to-air missile, although other users have opted for other missiles. At present Greece has not ordered a command post and radar system for use with ASRAD.

Greece to receive first PzH 2000 in 2003

By Christopher F Foss, Editor, Jane’s Armour and Artillery, and Land Forces Editor, Jane’s Defence Weekly

Production of the 24 Krauss-Maffei Wegmann 155mm PzH 2000 self-propelled artillery systems ordered by Greece is now underway in Germany with the first systems to be handed over in May 2003 and final deliveries being made in April 2004. Krauss-Maffei Wegmann has confirmed to Jane’s Defence Weekly that the Greek contract also includes a complete suite of ammunition, artillery command and control system, training package and MAN (6 x 6) ammunition support vehicles. The latter are ex-German Army systems originally used for the 110mm Light Artillery Rocket System (LARS), which has now been phased out of service with the Germany Army. These are being modified in Greece and fitted with a mechanical handing system that will carry pallets of 155mm ammunition including projectiles and charges.

Greek 8 x 8 requirement ahead

Although not currently funded, the Hellenic Army is expected to procure in the medium term a batch of 80 8 x 8 APCs with a possible eventual requirement of at least 300 units. With this in mind a number of companies attended Defendory 2002, including Satory Military Vehicles (France), Steyr Daimler-Puch (Austria), MOWAG/General Motors Defense and Singapore Technologies Kinetics.