Greece signed a new supply agreement with the US-based company Shield AI in order to strengthen its intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance activities in the Aegean Sea. Aiming to expand its existing V-BAT unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) fleet, the Greek Army aims to provide continuous situational awareness, especially in the Aegean Sea, and to increase its surveillance capacity in the sea area with this move.
The Athens administration, which wants to achieve effective reconnaissance capabilities in the scattered island structure of the Aegean, remote coastlines and sea approach areas, plans to make these platforms, which can stay in the air for long periods of time and operate without the need for a runway, one of the basic elements of the defense architecture.
IT HAS BEEN ON THE RISE AFTER ITS SUCCESS IN UKRAINE
Greece had successfully tested 3 V-BAT UAVs, which it first added to its inventory with a foundation donation in May 2025, in island conditions in the Aegean. Interest in the V-BAT platform, which has been on the agenda with technical problems such as hull cracks and performance problems in the fuel system in the past, increased again in civil and military wings after the high performance of the system in operations in Ukraine.
Considering this success and the positive test results in the Aegean, the Greek Ministry of Defense decided to procure 10 additional V-BAT systems on February 20, 2026, regardless of this last agreement.
IT CAN ENTER NIGHT SPACES
V-BAT, which has vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) capability, can perform operations in narrow and limited areas such as ship decks or forested areas, completely eliminating the need for a runway.
Depending on the payload carried, the UAV can stay in the air for more than 13 hours and can rise to an altitude of approximately 6 thousand meters with an average cruise speed of 98 km/h. The platform, whose operational range reaches up to 130 to 180 kilometers depending on the data connection used, can switch from vertical takeoff to horizontal flight mode in less than 15 seconds.
The modular V-BAT has a wingspan of approximately 2.9 meters and a maximum takeoff weight of up to 73 kilograms; It can easily accommodate different mission loads such as electro-optical sensors, radar and electronic warfare systems.
All copyrights of the articles, news and photographs published on the website www.sozcu.com.tr belong to Mega Ajans and Rek. Tic. It belongs to A.Ş. It cannot be quoted without permission, even by citing the source.
