Μake us preferred on Google Greece will keep its Patriot air-defense battery in Saudi Arabia for another month as Athens seeks to resolve outstanding issues with Riyadh over the continuation of the deployment, Defense Minister Nikos Dendias said on Thursday.
Speaking after a meeting of the high-ranking Government Council for Foreign Affairs and Defense (KYSEA) at the prime minister’s office, the Maximos Mansion, Dendias said the government had agreed to extend the deployment by one month.
“We will give it a one-month extension. I think the issue with Saudi Arabia will be resolved,” he said.
Greek Defense Minister Nikos Dendias.
The decision follows months of heightened attention around Greece’s military contribution to Saudi Arabia, where a Greek military unit has operated a US-made Patriot anti-aircraft and anti-missile system since 2021. The battery is stationed in Yanbu on the Red Sea coast and has been deployed as part of the international Integrated Air and Missile Defense (IAMD) mission supporting Saudi Arabia’s air defenses, particularly the protection of critical infrastructure.
The deployment moved into a new phase in March, when the Greek-operated battery intercepted two Iranian ballistic missiles. The March 19 operation was described by Greek authorities as strictly defensive and was carried out under established rules of engagement. A third interception followed on April 6, when the same Greek unit destroyed an unmanned aerial vehicle.
The operations highlighted the increasingly active role of the relatively small Greek contingent in the region while also drawing domestic political debate over the scope of Greece’s involvement in Middle Eastern security arrangements. The Greek government has maintained that the mission is defensive and intended to protect Saudi infrastructure rather than participate in offensive operations.
Moreover, Thursday’s KYSEA meeting also approved contracts linked to the government’s broader effort to develop what Dendias described as the “modern fighter,” part of the ongoing restructuring and modernization of Greece’s armed forces.
