Today, Monday 6 July 2026, the Minister of National Defence, Nikos Dendias, attended the inauguration ceremony of the new Joint UAS Tactics Training Centre at the Tripoli Air Detachment.
The Centre’s mission is to provide high-level holistic training on the testing of new drone and anti-drone systems and to contribute to various early warning, surveillance, and situation assessment missions during the management of crises and emergencies. The Centre provides basic training on the UAV and jamming systems developed by KETAK (Hellenic Research, Technological Development, and Innovation Centre). Furthermore, the deployment of FPV simulators is underway.
The Minister of National Defence toured the classrooms, where he was given a demonstration of flight simulator operation, CATIII live image, HERON operation, and drone operation on Force Protection and Unit Surveillance missions.
In his address during the ceremony, Mr. Dendias stated the following:
“I want to be honest with you. It is a great pleasure and a moment of great pride for me to be here in Tripoli today for the inauguration of the Joint UAS Tactics Training Centre. A commitment and part of the overall reform of the Armed Forces that started in January 2024 with the “Agenda 2030”. A holistic approach for the protection of our country, based on a basic, main, and fundamental assumption: that everything must change.
The Chiefs, the Chief of Defence and the Air Force Chief clearly laid down the role of UASs in modern operations.
I must tell you that we are making a very coherent effort here in Greece. As you know, we have built three production facilities for the Hellenic Armed Forces’ UASs. I am referring to the 306th Base Plant, the 316th Plant in Xanthi, and the new plant in Malakasa, which will provide us with broad production capabilities.
But a necessary complement to the production of CAT I, II, and ultimately III UASs is the production of operators capable of using these systems. And this is precisely what we inaugurate today for UAVs: The Joint Training Centre, which trains UAV pilots.
Setting aside all unnecessary modesty, I should tell you that our country has the ambition to be the strongest force in the European Union in the use of autonomous vehicles in the air, at sea, and on land. We will pursue this goal continuously and consistently because it is a goal that is necessary to protect the ultimate good, our national survival.
Humanity has entered an era where power comes from actual capabilities, not law. Thus, precisely to protect law, we must create elements of power.
I am currently reading a book on Greek history by the famous historian Vasilis Panagiotopoulos, I think I have mentioned it again. Its title is “Always after the fact”. If you look at the new Centre’s emblem, you will see that the first word in its motto is «ΠΡΟΟΡΑΝ», to anticipate, to think ahead.
I think it’s time for the Hellenic Armed Forces and our country in general, for Greece as it navigates this dystopic environment of the 21st century, to reverse this “always after the fact” mentality, to demonstrate foresight and not hindsight, and I hope that when perhaps another historian writes this book in the future, its title will be “Always in advance now”.
Thank you very much”.
The ceremony was also attended by the Deputy Minister of National Defence Thanasis Davakis, the Deputy Minister of Education, Religious Affairs, and Sport Konstantinos Vlasis, MP Evangelos Giannakouras, the Chief of Hellenic National Defence General Staff, General Dimitrios Choupis, the General Secretary of the Ministry of National Defence Antonios Ikonomou, the Head of the Region of the Peloponnese Dimitris Ptochos, the Mayor of Tripoli Kostas Tzioumis, His Eminence, the Metropolitan of Mantinia and Kynouria Mr. Epifanios, the Commanding General of the Hellenic Army Support Command, Lieutenant General Athanasios Saplaouras, as representative of the Chief of Hellenic Army General Staff, the Chief of Hellenic Navy General Staff, Vice Admiral Dimitrios – Eleftherios Kataras HN, the Chief of Hellenic Air Force General Staff, Lieutenant General (HAF) Dimosthenis Grigoriadis, the Alternate Head of the Region of the Peloponnese Christos Lambropoulos, the Deputy Head of Region for Arkadia of the Region of the Peloponnese Konstantinos Mandronis, the Mayor of Gortynia Efstathios Koulis, the Mayor of Southern Kynouria Emmanouil Dolianitis, the Mayor of Northern Kynouria Giorgos Kampylis, the President of the Chamber of Arkadia Ioannis Troupis, the General Regional Police Director of the Peloponnese, Police Major General Ilias Axiotopoulos, and representatives of local bodies and the Unions of Retired Air Force Officers of Tripoli and Kalamata.
Within the framework of his visit to Tripoli, Mr. Dendias then went to the offices of the Region of the Peloponnese, where he met with the Head of Region Dimitris Ptochos.
During the joint statement with the Head of the Region of the Peloponnese, Mr. Dendias stressed the following:
“It is a great pleasure, after the inauguration of the Joint UAS Tactics Training Centre in Tripoli, to visit the Head of Region, Dimitris Ptochos, here at the offices of the Region in Tripoli. I am glad, first of all because I had the opportunity to fulfil a promise I gave here on last year’s anniversary of the Fall of Tripolitsa by Theodoros Kolokotronis that this UAS School would be created here. A School that is very important for the “Agenda 2030”, the reform of the Hellenic Armed Forces, the transition into the new era.
Furthermore, I had the opportunity to discuss local matters with the Head of Region, how the Ministry of National Defence can help with the great development efforts made here in the Peloponnese. These matters will be addressed by the Head of Region.
I would like to tell you that we perceive the Ministry of National Defence not merely as an organisation that provides security to Greek citizens and protects the constitutional rights of our country, our constitutional space, but also as a driver of development. An organisation that can use the funds allocated to defence through the sacrifices of the Greek taxpayer to also boost the Greek economy. To produce export products, to produce know-how and, ultimately, national wealth.
Thank you again for the warm welcome.”
Subsequently, the Minister went to the Chamber of Arkadia, where he met with its President Ioannis Troupis and members of the Board of Directors. Addressing the President of the Chamber of Arkadia, Mr. Dendias expressed his great joy for the visit and stressed that he feels at home in the chamber family.
He also made a reference to the broader mission of Chambers:
“It is a great pleasure, I can tell you that, ever since I was a young boy, I have always felt at home in the chamber family. As a young lawyer, I experienced a period when Greece had an odd approach to and had turned against the chamber institution, with attempts to control it, etc.”
He also stressed the following:
“Currently, as the economy changes, Chambers are the institution that is close to SMEs – our backbone – and can help them transition into the new era. And new technology has the characteristics that can help specifically SMEs.”
In conclusion, Mr. Dendias stressed the following:
“It is very important – and it is an honour for me to visit here – to stand beside SMEs on the Greek periphery. We can not and should not, it is incompatible with common sense, as well as nationally disadvantageous, to restrict economic activity solely to Athens. We have built road axes, at great expense to the Greek taxpayer. These have a purpose: to maintain economic and social life on the periphery. They are not solely tourist infrastructure.
To the extent that I can – Kostas Vlasis, with whom I had a very fruitful discussion, is an old associate and friend, we had also served together at the Ministry of Development – if it is within my small powers to help, I am at your complete disposal. My perception of the Ministry of National Defence is that it is a Ministry that provides security for Greek citizens, but can also be a driver of development. It has a very large budget. Instead of spending this money to buy products from foreign suppliers, we can create domestic production, and this is something that can be done. For example, in the area of autonomous systems, like the ones on which our personnel will train in the Joint School here, I can assure you that we can create a new reality for the Hellenic Armed Forces.
In any event, wars have proven that, in order for a country to have resilience, it must have its own production base. We can’t buy everything from foreign sources. It is not possible. So we are making great efforts in this area.
I think the combination of the region of Arkadia and autonomous aerial vehicles can have multiple benefits. Not simply as the transfer of an activity here, as promised, but to be honest, as an activity far superior to the previous one, that of training newly recruited soldiers who stayed here for a few days, thus providing a small boost to the local economy. I understand this, but this is a boost on another scale. It is also not simply a transfer of funds, because people will come here to train, first from the Armed Forces, and later from the Police, the Fire Service, and Civil Protection. And hopefully from other countries too, but the main point is that this is a new technology. It brings a new perception to a region and propels it into a new era.”
