Greece opens military Space Operations Command

Greek Defence Minister Nikos Dendias on Monday, 10 November, officially opened the country's new Space Operations Command. The ceremony took place at Dekelia air base, north of Athens. The minister outlined plans to use satellites for military purposes, including surveillance, intelligence and communications, according to the newspaper Ekathimerini.

Dendias said Greece wants to develop its own network of satellites and related systems in order to end dependence on private service providers from other countries. He argued that experience gathered so far shows space to be a decisive dimension of military operations. As an example, he pointed to recent events affecting Ukraine's communications systems, when the country lost access to space-based resources.

The minister described the dependence of Greek military communications on a satellite owned by a foreign private company as an unacceptable solution. In his words, Greece has so far bought such services from foreigners, which is clearly not enough. Satellite intelligence must be owned by Greece and integrated into its command and control systems.

Satellite procurement

In recent months Greece has acquired 16 optical low-orbit satellites. Dendias said six more optical observation satellites are planned, which would provide immediate operational awareness of the situation.

He added that Attica has been chosen as the site of one of two planned European hubs for secure government communications, and that a comparable military satellite communications system will soon be procured. The minister called it an absolute national necessity, saying that without it the country would face enormous problems in times of crisis.

European context

It recently emerged that seven European Union countries have urged that the proposed European Space Shield be reshaped around protecting EU space systems, leaving military space capabilities at national level. Paris and Berlin have long been sceptical of the initiative, which Brussels proposed last year as part of the "Defence Readiness Roadmap 2030".