Greek UAV?

I came upon a couple of VERY interesting articles. They both speak of a UAV developed by the University of Crete and Greek company 3 Sigma. I was looking for ANY info on this as this is the ONLY time I’ve ever heard about this.

http://www.hri.org/news/greek/apeen/1999/99-10-18.apeen.html
New unmanned aircraft prototype developed by Univ. of Crete
99-10-18

A prototype of a “smart airplane” which can fly without a pilot and transmit information from a height of 25,000 feet and within a radius of 200 kilometres has been constructed by the University of Crete, in cooperation with the 3 Sigma firm.

Dubbed the “Nearchos”, the aircraft is currently on show at the “EMEX ’99” commercial trade exhibition in Hania.

It has a length of five metres and a wing span of 6.5 metres and can reach speeds of up to 215 kms per hour.

Under normal conditions, the Nearchos can fly for eight hours on its own power. It was developed in the framework of a new “smart system” for unmanned aircraft and cost 80 million drachmas to construct. The plane is linked with ground control through a satellite transmission. It is also programmed for safe landing with parachutes if low on fuel.

http://www.idsa-india.org/an-jul-200.html

“Not only India but other states too are proposing to have UAVs capable of operating at high altitudes. A mountainous state like Greece has a UAV, Sigma Nearchos, that has a maximum altitude of about 25,000 feet. Italy’s UAV, Meteor Mirach 150, has a service ceiling of about 30,000 feet. Israel has two UAVs, Silver Arrow Hermes 1500 and IAI Hernon with a similar service ceiling. USA has a UAV designed to operate at very high altitude ranging from 45,000 to 70,000 feet. Russia, faced with a serious challenge in the Caucasus, might also be interested in a UAV with higher service ceiling. Indigenous development of a UAV capable of operating at higher altitude needs to be taken up seriously in India either on its own or in collaboration with other appropriate partners since it is inextricably linked to its ground operations at high altitude.”