Army receives first delivery of M1117 armored security vehicles

The Greek Army officially received the first delivery of M1117 armored security vehicles from the US at a ceremony in Athens on Thursday.

The army is expected to receive 1,200 of the ASVs, at no cost, from the US military under the Excess Defense Articles program.

At the ceremony, which took place in the 301 base in Aghioi Anargyroi, Defense Minister Nikos Panagiotopoulos said that “the M1117 security armored vehicles will give a new lease of life to the operational design of our army formations, enabling them to carry out a wide range of missions.”

“Greece’s geopolitical environment and the threats it faces in the region of Evros, in the Aegean and in the wider eastern Mediterranean, oblige us to be constantly on the alert and to maintain our deterrent capacity at a high level.”

US Ambassador Geoffrey Pyatt expressed his satisfaction at the “enormous pride at the tremendous progress, which we have achieved in the interoperability and the partnership between our armed forces.”

“That interoperability is demonstrated every week across the Hellenic Republic from the exercises that we witnessed last week with our special forces working together through what we will do tomorrow in Alexandroupoli, where our forces are working together on the largest ever transfer of equipment through that strategically located port. But most importantly, demonstrating the partnership that is the essence of our alliance, our commitment to each other.”

When completed, the transfer of the M1117 vehicles “will reflect a US acquisition value of almost a billion dollars; $970 million of equipment provided to Greece at no cost under our Excess Defense Article program.”