“Free” Bradleys will cost €8 million for Greece

14 October, 2024 M2 Bradley infantry fighting vehicle, USA. Photo: Oz Suguitan/US Transportation Command via AP Repair of the M2 Bradley infantry fighting vehicles offered to Greece will cost an amount close to the manufacture of equipment from scratch.

Greek Defense Minister Nikos Dendias told this to the Defense Review. The Ministry of Defense of the country reported on the extremely poor technical condition of the American M2A2 Bradley, which were offered by the United States as free military aid to the Greek army. The Minister of Defense noted that the department estimated that the cost of repairing one vehicle reached EUR8 million per infantry fighting vehicle.

This amount is equivalent to the production of a new modern infantry fighting vehicle. Militarnyi previously reported that in June of this year, a Greek military delegation had visited the equipment storage facilities in Camp Shelby, Mississippi. There, they inspected Bradley IFVs, selecting 62 units as part of the Excess Defense Articles (EDA) program.

Greece was to finance the repair and restoration of these combat vehicles. Therefore, the Greek side considers it inappropriate to spend significant funds on the restoration of these combat vehicles. The same conclusions were drawn regarding 102 Bradley infantry fighting vehicles, which Greece was offered to purchase at a low price from BAE Systems' stocks.

American assistance to Greece

According to the Defense Review, the infantry fighting vehicles, along with a number of other equipment, were to be transferred free of charge in response to Greece's provision of important infrastructure and facilities on its territory for military use.

In particular, this refers to the port of Alexandroupolis. In view of this, the United States provided hundreds of M1117 armored security vehicles, Island patrol ships, and OH-58 Kiowa helicopters free of charge.

An M1117 armored security vehicle of the Greek army, transferred from the United States. May, 2022. Photo credits: U.S.

Embassy in Greece

In addition, the United States pledged to provide infantry fighting vehicles, 4 C-130 military transport aircraft, and 4 Freedom coastal ships. However, these agreements have not yet been fulfilled or are of questionable benefit to Greece, as in the case of the Bradley vehicles. Greece began to actively address the issue of updating the armored component of its Armed Forces in 2023.

At that time, the government announced the plans to modernize its Leopard 2A4 tanks and potentially purchase 204 KF41 Lynx IFVs.

In addition, under the Ringtausch program, Greece received 30 Marder infantry fighting vehicles from Germany in exchange for the equipment transferred to Ukraine.