Greece withdrew from NATO’s Next Generation Rotorcraft Capability (NGRC) program, which will enter its second phase around 2026.

The reasons why Greece withdrew from the NGRC were explained by the Minister of National Defence, Nikos Dendias, in response to a related question from the PASOK MP, Michalis Katrinis, in the context of the parliamentary audit.

Greece will not be renewing its membership in NATO’s NGRC program, according to the Minister of Defence. This is because, on the one hand, the program no longer meets the operational needs of the country, which is the development of a helicopter platform; and on the other hand, the participating states are expected to pay a lot more money while the defence industry gets nothing in return.

At the same time, the Defence Minister reports that the Ministry has already started the process of the country’s participation in the EU ENGRT Program, which is financed by the European Defence Fund (EDF) and in which the domestic defence industry participates.

For this reason, Greek participation in a second program with the same object, under NATO, was deemed pointless.

Finally, regarding the acquisition of new means of air power, the acquisition of helicopters is already underway to meet the operational requirements of the Hellenic Armed Forces’ Branches. 

As for the rest, details on the selection and implementation of programs to acquire new units or upgrade existing ones are classified and therefore cannot be shared through the relevant parliamentary control process, Mr. Dendias noted.

Also read: Dendias | Changes to military service