Greek website onalert.gr on February 10 reports that the Greek Minister of National Defense Nikolaos Panagiotopoulos informed about the progress of the implementation of the Greek-German agreement regarding the replacement of the Greek Armored Fighting Vehicles (AMS) BMP-1 with German Marder 1A3 IFVs, as well as the progress of the equipment programs of the Army.
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14 Marder 1A3 IFVs have already been received from Germany to date (Picture source: Greek/Hellenic MoD)

Regarding the delivery schedule of Marder 1A3 IFVs, Defense minister Nikolaos Panagiotopoulos informed that 14 Marders have already been received from Germany to date, while an additional 6 are expected to be received. The delivery of the remaining 20 is expected to take place in the second half of 2023. Accordingly, 20y BMP-1s have been delivered to Ukraine so far.

He further clarified that according to the operational planning of the GES, the BMP-1 Tomas were replaced in such a way that no operational gap was created and the uniformity of the defense material was ensured. It is pertinent to note that the phase-out and replacement of BMP-1s started in 2017, he added.

In addition, as part of the operational design for this replacement, a sufficient number of M1117 Guardian Armored Security Vehicles received from the USA were added to the defense arrangement. "In this regard, the Armed Forces are redeploying units and means in order to upgrade their operational capabilities. However, the more specific actions they are taking cannot be communicated, due to the classification of confidentiality.

At the same time, the Minister of National Defense informed that "in relation to the acquisition of Rheinmetall KF41 Lynx/Toma and the upgrade of Leopard 2A4, at this stage, the Council of Chiefs of General Staff (SGA) has issued an opinion approving the activation of the respective programs, as below:
• Leopard 2A4 tank upgrade, including initial and subsequent support, to upgrade 123 tanks.
• Supply of new Tomas/IFVs, including initial and subsequent support, for the supply of 205 Toma/Lynx vehicles.

It is recalled that the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between the German Ministry of Defense and the Greek Ministry of National Defense on September 16, 2022, provides for the free provision of 40 Marder IFVs from Germany to Greece, to replace the corresponding 40 BMP-1s granted by Greece to Ukraine.

KF41 Lynx, the forthcoming Greek army's IFV (Picture source: Rheinmetall)