Greece has unveiled a domestically designed and built unmanned surface drone called the "Pyrpolitis," with Defense Minis...

Greece has unveiled a domestically designed and built unmanned surface drone called the "Pyrpolitis," with Defense Minister Nikos Dendias announcing plans to mass-produce it for the Hellenic Navy. The vessel was developed entirely by the Hellenic Navy General Staff and is currently in the final stages of autonomous operation testing. The Pyrpolitis can collect intelligence, conduct surveillance and target recognition, and carry out offensive strikes against surface targets. Dendias said the next step is producing the drone in large numbers while also developing larger autonomous and unmanned vessels. The announcement came at the inauguration of the Joint School of Unmanned and Autonomous Maritime Systems at the Skaramagkas Naval Fortress, a new training center dedicated to unmanned and autonomous platforms. Dendias said Greece cannot simply purchase systems from abroad and must develop the capacity to design and produce its own. Dendias set an ambitious target: by 2030, Greece should be the top European military for autonomous naval platforms. He framed the initiative under what he called "Agenda 2030," which also saw a drone manufacturing facility break ground in June and an unmanned aerial vehicle training center open in Tripoli in July. The minister also noted the Hellenic Navy's upcoming commissioning of the frigate "Nearhos" in France and discussed a preliminary agreement with his Italian counterpart in Venice on the transfer of a number of mine-hunting vehicles to Greece. He stressed that autonomous systems will protect not just Greek sovereignty and sovereign rights, but also critical undersea energy and communications infrastructure in the Aegean. #HellenicNavy #Greece #Defense