Greek defense policy officials have acknowledged Artificial Intelligence (AI) as a potential force enabler on the modern battlefield. Considering the country’s geostrategic risk landscape and in view of harnessing technological opportunities, the Greek defense ecosystem has launched three main lines of effort to prepare for and adopt defense AI: research and development (R&D) collaboration, procurement of defense AI from key partners, and the provision of a holistic approach to training and education.

First, Greece makes maximum use of its active participation in European defense research, development, and innovation (RD&I) projects. It also launches national R&D initiatives to enable the domestic ecosystem to access cutting-edge knowledge and technologies and/or tests them under real operational conditions.

Second, procuring high-quality defense material that exploits AI will enable the armed forces to understand its operational capabilities. This will significantly expedite the learning curves of both military officers and engineers, close capability gaps that emerged from the country’s systematic underinvestment during the 2009–2018 economic crisis and enable the defense industry to benefit as well. As subcontractors for international procurement projects or as main contractors to various export cases, exploiting AI will increase their production capacity and upgrade their list of products.

Finally, Greece is stepping up efforts to advance the education of its military personnel. Within both standard military education and civilian postgraduate degrees, a growing AI-related educational, research, and entrepreneurial ecosystem to which they can link and get hands-on experience is becoming visible. This is also likely to create beneficial feedback loops.

In line with the platonic phrase “necessity is the mother of invention,” the Greek defense establishment has been a quick adopter of AI and its defense promises for several reasons. These include long-standing bilateral problems with neighboring countries, the potential to apply defense-related AI to the civilian realm and vice versa, and an innate understanding of the need to ride the current scientific and technological wave.

1 Thinking About Defense AI

AI is hereby perceived as the next general-purpose technology that will shape the technological and economic evolution of the twenty-first century, affecting a wide range of industries. AI boosts the performance of other cutting-edge technologies, such as robotics, and “educates” decision support systems linked to applications, such as autonomous vehicles, by way of crunching ever-increasing amounts of classifiable data. This reality has been recognized at the top political level in Greece (Mitsotakis 2023: 4) and exercises mapping the domestic AI-related capabilities have been initiated (Sahini et al. 2022).

Defense is a field that cannot remain immune to the potential benefits of AI. Indeed, as this technology poses strains in the conduct of the ‘traditional’ technology policy and innovation management, by way of making use of large language models in “synthesizing scientific evidence for policymakers” (Tyler et al. 2023) up to ‘reinventing the way we invent’ (Cockburn et al. 2018), the policymakers responsible for developing new defense products and applications have been pondering how to best exploit the benefits of AI and utilize new advances in AI and machine learning to find new opportunities for defense technology developers (Rickli and Manellassi 2023). This has not evaded Greek policymakers. AI has been recognized as one of the main strategic axes of the Digital Transformation Bible, the flagship digital transformation policy report developed by the Ministry of Digital Governance (2021). As for the definition of AI, the document refers to it as “a collection of technologies that, by combining data, algorithms and increased computing power, is able to learn and make decisions that until recently were made solely by humans, with the aim of achieving defined goals” (Ministry of Digital Governance 2021: 158).

A National Strategy on AI (NSonAI) is scheduled to be published by the Ministry of Digital Governance in 2024 (Van Roy et al. 2021: 70–71). While the NSonAI has not been made public yet, it is believed that it touches upon the relevant security and military challenges and offers strategic outlines for developing a robust defense AI strategy. The NSonAI is expected to “set out the conditions for the development of AI, including the skills and trust framework, data policy and ethical principles for its safe development and use” and “outline national priorities and areas for maximizing the benefits of AI to address societal challenges and economic growth” (Ministry of Digital Governance 2021: 159–160).

Additionally, a high-profile team of experts was created in October 2023, under the auspices of the Prime Minister’s office. It has been tasked to propose how Greece should best position itself in relation to AI, exploring avenues for the latter to be incorporated into multiple policy domains, including defense. While announcing the establishment of the advisory team, PM Mitsotakis referred explicitly to “AI and the armed forces” as “a great challenge for the transformation of the deterrent capacity of our country” (Hellenic Republic 2023).

Development and implementation of a Greek defense AI strategyFootnote 1 must center on the key specificities and considerations, including external threats, laid out by the Ministry of National Defense (MoD). Indeed, traditional security considerations loom large in the country’s decision to embrace AI. As AI is considered a game-changer and Greece’s competitors have already adopted and implemented defense AI strategies, Athens has embarked on a path to incorporate AI into defense. Although a comprehensive defense AI strategy has not yet been published, this view is reflected in two preceding MoD documents: the National Defense Industrial Strategy (General Directorate for Defense Investments and Armaments 2017) and the Strategic Analysis of Developments after 2030 (Hellenic National Defense General Staff 2015). Authored in the previous decade, both documents seek to position the domestic defense industrial base and the force structure in relation to cutting-edge technologies that can influence defense affairs. As of September 2023, both are being updated.

While such systemic documents are being re-authored, they indicate an operational reality that domestic defense policy makers have been quick to grasp. In numerous high-profile meetings, AI has been pointed out by high-ranking officials as a key technological objective (Hellenic National Defense General Staff 2022a; Ministry of Defense 2019, 2022) that Greek armed forces should be increasingly aligning with to address the challenges emanating from its geostrategic environment. Greece is preparing to incorporate AI into twenty-first century defense scenarios and attribute robotics and other unmanned vehicles a larger role in multi-domain operations. Or as former Deputy Defense Minister Nikos Hardalias (2023a) pointed out:

The importance of new technologies, and in particular Emerging and Disruptive Technologies, is crucial, and we need to exploit them at all levels. These technologies, such as quantum technologies, AI, robotics, and autonomous weapon systems can have a catalytic effect on the battlefield as we know it… We see how important weapons systems and technologies such as drones, satellite internet and cyber weapons have become today.

Significantly, this rationale has been taken up by the incoming Minister of National Defense Nikos Dendias who has already signalled his acute understanding of the need for Greek armed forces to continue strengthening their digital and tech-savvy footprint in relation to AI and cybersecurity. Indeed, enhancing the production capabilities of the domestic industrial sector and a much more holistic and institutionally rounded approach on innovation has been indicated. As of November 2023, a dedicated legislation is currently in the workings.

Another prominent individual whose strategic thinking can be seen as reflecting the broader understanding of the Greek techno-military establishment is Panagiotis Kikiras, Head of Unit, Innovative Research, at the European Defense Agency:

AI has the potential to be a game changer for the defence sector (…) reducing the risk of loss of human lives on the battlefields, offering better efficiency than human soldiers, and the cost of its introduction is 10 times less than the corresponding cost of training soldiers. Moreover, today AI technologies are more mature and driven by investments in non-military sectors. This trend (…) has led to the exponential growth of AI technologies, which has allowed its immediate introduction into defence (…) (Kikiras 2017).

As addressed in the following chapters, Greek defense planning has been systematically incorporating AI in its daily business in the form of developing and participating in AI-related RD&I projects to get access to cutting-edge knowledge and testing this new technology under real operational conditions. Policy makers have realized that such cutting-edge technologies are being developed by both the defense and civilian ecosystem, thus trying to “spin-in” commercial solutions into their wider military planning by way of instigating synergies within the domestic civilian R&D ecosystem (Hardalias 2023b).

Also, the Greek armed forces seek to acquire operational applications of AI by way of procuring high quality defense material from global industry players. A third channel is through educating personnel. Seeking to expand knowledge boundaries, personnel of the armed forces are presented with a plethora of study options in relation to AI and a growing AI-related educational, research and entrepreneurial ecosystem to which they can link.

In advancing national defense AI capabilities, Greece takes a slightly different path on one important aspect: ethics. Although ethical considerations on the wider use of AI have been pointed out in Greek society, on its military applications a much more pragmatic approach remains the norm. Overcoming a decade of procurement drought and the continuous strategic rivalry with Turkey are the key considerations for policymakers. These have sidelined any societal debate about ethical questions surrounding defense AI. Nevertheless, the MoD should keep track of the international debate on the ethics of defense AI and generate in-house reflections on the ethical challenges of AI during warfare.

2 Developing Defense AI

2.1 Defense AI Ecosystem

Greek’s defense AI ecosystem consists of two broad groups. First is the public administration comprising the national armed forces and the homeland security apparatus (falling under the auspices of the Ministry of Citizen Protection), not least because many foreign threats are inextricably linked with civilian security considerations. The second group consists of private and publicly owned firms engaged in providing the “tools” for defense. The commonly accepted understanding is that the country

consistently supports cooperation with the private sector and the academic community to promote innovation and the exploitation of Emerging and Disruptive Technologies to the maximum extent possible, in line with the operational requirements and specifications of the armed forces (Hardalias 2023a).

The armed forces are not just a “consumer” of AI products. With a highly educated profile, increased operational experience and participation in NATO and EU agencies, the armed forces actively shape the AI-related discussion in relation to needs and requirements. Moreover, as an end-user of cutting-edge RD&I projects, officers get to test AI-enhanced equipment and acquire first-hand experience during the development phase.

Defense firms constitute an important aspect of the defense AI ecosystem. Increasingly active in RD&I activities and starting to capitalize on their export potential, Greek firms are engaged in the production of defense services and products of various technological levels and capabilities. With an industry structure having a few large companies that are export-oriented and/or work as contractors for global defense firms, most are SMEs focused on the delivery of specific parts in the domestic defense value chain. Most established companies are active in both civilian and defense markets. The focus on providing dual-use technology and the decision to serve two different markets originate from the fact that during the decade-long economic crisis, firms had to diversify to survive. Moreover, established companies operate parallel to startups and spin-offs offering innovative new products and solutions. Among others, the following defense companies have been active in the field of defense AI:

  • Hellenic Instruments (defense electronics)

  • Planetek (remote sensing solutions)

  • Intracom Defense (missile electronics, tactical communications, C4I systems, and unmanned systems)

  • Space Hellas (integrated ICT and security solutions)

  • Terra Spatium (remote sensing and geoinformation solutions)

  • Eight Bells (consulting on AI, cybersecurity, optical networks, and sensors)

  • FEAC Engineering (virtual engineering services through computer-aided engineering and simulation techniques)

  • Lambda Automata (advanced sensor-fusion capabilities)

  • Olympia Electronics (electronic safety and security solutions)

  • Prisma Electronics (smart sensor wireless network technology)

  • Spirit Aeronautical Systems (unmanned systems technology)

  • Satways (integrated geospatial C2 solutions)

The Greek defense AI ecosystem also includes several leading research institutes, different directorates of the Greek MoD and the armed forces, and international partners as highlighted in Fig. 1 and Table 1.

Fig. 1
A flow diagram. Domestic defense industry integrates with government and academic and research activities, which focus on overall government priorities and E U and domestic R D and I projects, respectively. Domestic defense industry focuses on European defense industrial collaboration.

Conceptualizing the Greek National Defense ecosystem. Source: Authors’ Chart

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Table 1 Actors in the Greek Defense AI ecosystem
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In view of advancing and strengthening networks among defense stakeholders in Greece, DefencEduNet was launched in December 2023. This new framework brings together industry members of SEKPY with leading national academic institutions and research centers. The ambition is to improve the valorization of academic and research expertise by stepping up cooperation with industry, promote collaborative efforts to strengthen the development of defense and dual use technologies, and advance the inclusion scientific experts from Greece in European programs (SEKPY 2023).

2.2 Important Defense AI Projects in Development

Currently, several AI-related defense projects are in various stages of development. They are funded by European competitive funds or co-funded by European and national funds, including the Recovery and Resilience Facility, or nationally funded, including procurement contracts.

2.2.1 International Development Projects

With respect to international development projects, the lion’s share refers to European projects aiming at establishing a common defense R&D and industrial capability. Participation in EU projects is a significant pathway for Greek actors to obtain funds and top-tier know-how, and a pathway wherein these actors exhibit success (Defence Redefined 2022). The following non-exhaustive overview includes projects with Greek partners as coordinators and/or members and is indicative of Greece’s emphasis on securing European funding and expanding the network of international partnerships:

  • CTIRISP (Cyber Threats and Incident Response Information Sharing Platform).

  • DECISMAR (Development of a Decision Support Toolbox for enhancing the feasibility study of the Upgrade of Maritime Surveillance).

  • d-THOR (Digital Ship Structural Health Monitoring).

  • FaRADAI (Frugal and Robust AI for Defence Advanced Intelligence)

  • GEOMETOC (Geo-Meteorological and Oceanographic Support Coordination Element)

  • HARMSPRO (Harbour & Maritime Surveillance and Protection)

  • LOTUS (Low Observable Tactical Unmanned Air System)

  • MAS MCM (Maritime Semi Autonomous Systems for Mine Countermeasures)

  • MIRICLE (Mine Risk Clearance for Europe)

  • PANDORA (Cyber Defence Platform for Real-time Threat Hunting, Incident Response, and Information Sharing)

  • PRIVILEDGE (PRIVacy and homomorphic encryption for artificial intelligence)

  • USSPS (Development of Unmanned Semi-fixed Sea Platforms for Maritime Surveillance)

2.2.2 National Development Projects

Through funding programs such as the 2021–2027 Partnership and Cooperation Agreement, the Recovery and Resilience Facility and national funds, Greece has invested in developing systems related to security and defense AI along three lines of efforts: big data and data fusion to enhance situational awareness, unmanned systems, and safety and predictive maintenance.

  • Big Data and Data Fusion

The THORAX integrated information system (Ministry of Development & Investments 2020; Nedos 2022) will transmit real-time information concerning search and rescue operations, border security, irregular immigration, or earthquakes to the MoD’s National Operational Center, thus enabling decision-making commensurate with the needs of emerging crisis situations. AI will be used for real-time data fusion of information obtained through multiple air, land, and sea-based sensors.

  • Unmanned Systems

Greece aspires to develop unmanned systems to cover its gap with the global use of unmanned systems (Ellinikikos Stratos Undated). Turkey, Greece’s strategic competitor, has become highly adept at developing and using these systems. The Greek inability to counter these systems entails a tactical disadvantage in addition to a know-how deficiency in a cutting-edge field. Greece has established a privileged partnership with the United States and Israel to make use of their unmanned systems to cover the country’s tactical deficiencies as a stop-gap measure.

Against this background efforts to develop Greek unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) go back to 1982, with the first flight of the HAI E1-79 Pegasus followed by its second version (Pegasus II) in 2005 which is currently part of the arsenal of the Hellenic Air Force (Undated-a). The HCUAV RX-1 was developed as collaborative project in the 2007–2013 National Strategic Reference Framework, coordinated by the Fluid and Turbine Engineering Laboratory of the Mechanical Engineering Department of AUTH (Defence Point 2019). The DELEAR RX-3 platform which emerged from RX-1 was produced as part of the LOTUS project (DELAER Undated; Intracom Defense 2020). The RX-3 vehicle will adopt AI to perceive the environment and to autonomously execute parts of its mission.

A second attempt emerged from a joint venture project involving the Naval Cadets School, the National Technical University of Athens and the EFA Group of CompaniesFootnote 2 for the development of the Greek UAV ARCHYTAS (Nikitas 2022). A TRL-8 prototype is expected in Q4 of 2023 and industrial production is expected in Q1 of 2024 (Ministry of Defense 2023).

A third attempt concerns the development of the first Greek UCAV, GRYPAS, which was initialized in January 2023 with the signing of a Memorandum of Cooperation between the Ministry of Finance and the MoD, the Hellenic Aerospace Industry, and several Greek universities (Defence Review 2023). This project corresponds to the operational need of the armed forces for a medium-altitude long-endurance UAV for intelligence or strike missions. AI will be implemented for automated navigation and recognition of certain types of targets.

  • Predictive Maintenance and Safety

    NAVMAT, a project of the Naval Cadet School and the Hellenic Foundation for Research and Innovation, is a platform for recording, indexing, comparing, assessing, and retrieving information, history of operations and maintenance, evidence, and testimony for incidents of failure in the naval environment. Based on materials failure ontology, it makes use of AI algorithms and cutting-edge approaches in data handling, optimizing naval materials failure management, and supporting decision-making in maintenance and repair operations (NAVMAT 2023).

2.2.3 Procurement Projects

During the last 5 years, Greece has signed approximately 200 major defense procurement contracts (e-Amyna 2023), driven mainly by the long-standing strategic rivalry with Turkey and the need to overcome a decade of limited procurement activities. These external drivers have been coupled with a more utilitarian approach: procuring ready-to-use high-tech defense systems from foreign contractors requires the national defense industrial base to be involved to ensure smooth operation. In addition, there is a growing interest in using international procurement projects as avenues to help mature local defense companies and enable them to enter more digital product segments.

Importantly, these objectives are in line with a wider political understanding with the governments of the states where the respective industrial groups, from which the procurement will take place, are headquartered. Countries such as the United States, France, and Israel have recognized the increased geopolitical significance of Greece and maintain strategic interests that are in line with Greece’s objectives. Exploring the possibilities and investing in AI-related systems and technologies “is a security issue that is both national and supranational, and therefore concerns both NATO and the EU. But it can only be carried out effectively through international cooperation with partners with whom we share common principles and values” (Hardalias 2023a).

This has morphed into a more collaborative approach in matters of industrial production. A conscious effort is being undertaken to transform this “one-way street” of high-tech procurement from advanced countries into an industrial production scheme wherein Greek defense industry will participate in product development for the purposes of the specific procurement contract and as part of the production value chain globally. Τhis geopolitical alignment is further exhibited in EU RD&I projects, wherein Greek entities extensively collaborate with French, Italian and Spanish actors.

Regarding industrial production, Naval Group’s 3 Belharra-type frigates (FDI-HN), Dassault Aviation’s 24 Rafale, the modernization of 4 MEKO-type frigates and the acquisition of 20 Lockheed Martin-made F-35 fighter jets are of special interest as most of these assets are data-powered and sensor-enabled. These projects will require the local industry to make substantial efforts in view of sensor fusion capabilities and other types of decision support tools operators can use for integrating disparate sensor and information data, optronics for target acquisition, and parsing of Failure, Reporting, Analysis, and Corrective Action (FRACAS) data. However, if and to what extent local industry partners can contribute is still under discussion and needs to be assessed in view of local competencies and international supplier requirements. This includes a detailed understanding of the domestic defense industry’s research and technological capabilities—a mapping task that is currently being undertaken.

In addition, MBDA’s contract to provide ASTER 30 B1 area air defense and MM40 Exocet Block 3C anti-ship missiles for the FDI-HN, and the Meteor air-to-air, the SCALP cruise, the MICA air-to-air and the AM39 Exocet anti-ship missiles for Rafale are linked to collaborating with domestic parties. One such case is the contribution of the National Technical University of Athens to develop AI-relevant technologies. This case and MBDA’s “R&D Booster” for the establishment of R&D partnerships with the domestic industry and academia indicate the aforementioned geopolitical alliance between France and Greece, through which France as the supplier is seeking to broaden its footprint in Greece’s defense ecosystem (MBDA 2022, 2023).

3 Organizing Defense AI

Greek’s defense institutions are reorganizing for the advent of defense AI. Early indications suggest that new NSonAI that will be published later this year will cover defense AI issues in relation to inter-ministerial and cross-departmental arrangements and security and military considerations. These aspects notwithstanding, the MoD currently lacks a single, unitary coordinating authority responsible for defense AI. Rather, the respective policies and the gathering of relevant knowledge are being carried out by multiple centers within the MoD structure:

  • The Directorate for Defense Investments and Technological Research (DDITR) at the General Directorate for Defense Investments and Armaments (GDDIA) is responsible for managing state-funded and European R&D projects, including those that are AI-focused. This Directorate is familiar with the EU’s AI-related priorities, the capabilities of participating Greek actors, and the respective project results.

  • In collaboration with DDITR, the Directorate for Defense Programs and Principal Contracts within the same General Directorate manages major procurement projects, including sub-contracting the domestic industrial base. Given that most—if not all—of the current procurement projects do entail a domestic co-production aspect, GDDIA is highly engaged in organizing technological and industrial actions on defense AI.

  • Moreover, given the hybrid security threats posed by both state and non-state actors in Greece’s land and sea borders, additional operational centers and assets performing multiple data-collection missions are being operated in tandem by defense, police, and coast guard forces. Thus, the Hellenic National Defense General Staff is also exposed to AI-relevant assets and technologies that are being deployed within the context of security-relevant R&D and procurement projects.

  • As of end of October 2023, the new Hellenic Center for Defense Research and Innovation Development (KETAK) has been institutionalized by the MoD, seeking to address real, operational requirements by all branches of the armed forces. Although little has been revealed, one can assume that KETAK will seek to implement a fully blown defense technology policy by taking into consideration the existing domestic, civilian and defense, RD&I ecosystem and the industrial realities of GDDIA. Whether KETAK will incorporate the existing per branch research centers or will administer them in a more streamlined manner is per se an innovation management question to be addressed within the MoD. Defense Minister Dendias (2023) specified the establishment of KETAK as one of the key priorities for 2024, focusing on the mobilization of resources and international collaborations to advance R&T development and defense industry restructuring.

  • Lastly, the General Directorate of National Defense Policy and International Relations (GDNDPIR) is responsible for addressing the policy-relevant issues on AI and other cutting-edge technologies, thereby considering the country’s international relations, allied obligations, and requirements stemming from bilateral defense cooperation agreements.

This multiplicity of administrative entities within MoD creates several inroads for the latter to be educated on defense AI. In addition, there are several service-specific inroads via the Communications Division of the Land Forces, the Submarine Directorate of the Hellenic Navy and C Branch (Support) in coordination with the D Branch (Policy and Planning) of the Hellenic Air Force General Staff. Service-specific insights gained through these avenues can inform the set up and implementation of new R&D projects, thus creating a positive feedback loop. Although this decentralized and horizontal approach is beneficial, thought should be given to setting up an overarching single point of entry within the MoD. As our concluding chapter will argue, such an approach could also streamline inter-agency interaction and help overcome institutional inertia.

As argued previously, the defense industry is an important economic and policy actor in relation to defense AI and an essential part of the defense ecosystem. Firms are engaged in several ways in organizing AI-relevant defense activities:

  • First, by participating in EU, national and in-house R&D projects, thus acquiring relevant know-how. In addition to funding and know-how, being part of EU RD&I consortia offers significant networking and collaboration opportunities. Indeed, certain private firms have been exhibiting a steady participation in such projects. These companies can serve as national “transmission belts” that help diffuse international experience among national partners and enable them to develop competitive future products and services.

  • Second, by participating as a subcontractor to the domestic procurement process. As part of the production pipeline, Greek firms stand to gain by becoming trusted partners of the main contractors on similar procurement contracts globally.

  • Third, by participating in global tenders. This is due to in-house innovation and technological prowess. As the GDDIA is responsible to regularly update the Registry of Manufacturers of Defense Material (General Directorate for Defense Investments and Armaments 2023), the MoD is familiar with each firm’s AI-related capabilities. This is also relevant for the Hellenic Manufacturers of Defense Material Association (SEKPY), which is the largest national defense cluster with more than 200 member companies. To further promote the commercial interest of their members, industrial associations should undertake all relevant measures to regularly map and disseminate the technological capabilities and skills of its members in relation to such cutting-edge technologies. This syncs with GGDIA’s objectives and offers a validated set of data to be incorporated to the country’s defense technology and industrial policy. Even though the MoD maintains an overview of available technological capabilities, such mapping would bring added value to the equation. For instance, an industry-led initiative could help faster highlight the strong innovative elements of the sector, thereby informing dual-use industrial policy. Also, mapping will assist with attracting talent and locating skill gaps, enabling the provision of additional training/upskilling opportunities. Lastly, potential bureaucratic obstacles in the timely monitoring of industrial capabilities by the MoD can be more effectively bypassed in this way.

Being knowledgeable about the AI capabilities of the domestic defense industrial base is important, as a new AI-focused domestic ecosystem is emerging. Dedicated platforms such as Elevate Greece (Undated) and a renewed emphasis on innovation, as set out by the Minister of National Defense Nikos Dendias and his explicit aim to set up a dedicated Project Management Office in his upcoming legislation, will potentially streamline and boost existing good practices, such as MoD’s defense-related start-up competitions (General Directorate for Defense Investments and Armaments 2017: 12) and Defense Innovation Challenge (Ministry of Defense Undated), thus providing a comprehensive overview of the national defense AI ecosystem.

Moreover, the new NATO Defense Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic (DIANA) is expected to provide Greece’s ecosystem with a further boost. Operating as a start-up incubator/accelerator and building on existing test facilities (NATO 2022a), DIANA has enlisted the Foundation for Research and Technology—Hellas (in Crete and in Patras), the National Centre for Scientific Research Demokritos (in Athens), and the Center for Research and Technology Hellas (in Thessaloniki). These will focus on AI, autonomous technologies, quantum technologies, biotechnology, and novel materials. In combination with the new NATO Innovation Fund, the objective is to kick-start deep-tech startups, including spin offs, and to bring them into technology development projects relevant for NATO.

4 Funding Defense AI

An increase in R&D investment has been the new norm within the Greek RD&I ecosystem. Despite the existing shortfalls originating from the fallout of the economic crisis 2009–2018, political decision-makers agree on the need to increase Greece’s participation in European RD&I projects and advancing the proficiency of the local workforce. Or, as the National Defense Industrial Strategy puts it,

the participation of the armed forces in research programs, funded either by the state budget or externally, as a strategic partner or contractor with significant operational experience, specialized personnel, infrastructure, and means should be encouraged (General Directorate of Defense Investment & Armaments 2017: 2).

This understanding has become the guiding principle to set up the Hellenic Foundation for Research and Innovation, the Deputy Ministry of Research and Technology, and Elevate Greece, a state registry on startups and an informed gateway for potential investors. A large portion of the 2021–2027 Partnership and Cooperation Agreement, the Recovery and Resilience Facility and other national funds are directed towards R&D. A pro-business climate spurred domestic R&D spending (from 0.68% of GDP in 2011 to 1.45% of GDP in 2021), which, in turn, helped renew the attention of global investors to engage in Greece’s high-tech sector.

Spending on defense procurement and R&D has been on the rise. Historically, Greek armed forces have been a procurer of foreign defense material, but defense purchases plummeted during the crisis years. Similarly, R&D activities attracted low interest from policy officials. Both trends have been reversed. Procurement has spiked since 2020 with the government signaling its willingness to buy top defense equipment, and awareness of the importance of RD&I as a “vertical” theme of activities has increased. To be part of global value chains and long-term partners of global firms, domestic companies have realized that they need to engage in knowledge-intensive activities that initiate in-house learning processes critical for product/services development. Still, despite a general uptick in defense RD&I spending, it is impossible to provide a financial breakdown of Greece’s spending on defense AI as the respective figures are classified.

5 Fielding and Operating Defense AI

Although Greece participates in AI-relevant R&D activities, the production and operation of AI systems is not particularly developed. Based on open-source information we contend that some of the R&D projects discussed previously have been turned into field experiments. Additionally, Greece’s purchase of off-the-shelf defense systems and future defense procurement plans include integrated AI components. If these lines of effort serve as indicators for the use cases of defense AI solutions that are about to be fielded, we see three focus areas: improving situational awareness and understanding, augmenting existing defense capabilities, and advancing border security.

5.1 Situational Awareness and Situational Understanding

A case in point here concerns the streamlining and operationalizing of multiple data sources for real-time command and control. This has been the focus of the new Intelligence Fusion Cell (IFC) of the Special Warfare Command. IFC focuses on providing full-spectrum, multi-domain operational and strategic intelligence through AI, thus achieving interoperability and enabling intelligence sharing (Hellenic National Defense General Staff 2022b).

5.2 Augmenting Existing Capabilities

Like other countries, Greece strives to advance existing defense capabilities with the use of defense AI. In this regard, the following projects are worth mentioning:

  • Its presence at the 2021 Parmenion exercise (Ministry of Defense 2021) suggests that the ARCHYTAS UAV has matured and is ready for operational demonstration. Transferring this system into the portfolio of the Greek armed forces will significantly advance intelligence collection and assessment capabilities.

  • In 2021, the Hellenic Air Force procured HERON UAVs from Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI Undated) to conduct intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance (ISTAR) missions (Nikitas 2021). These missions are built upon the ability to combine and enhance open-source maritime and other terrain data with AI-driven insights to quickly identify patterns of vessel behavior and anomalies. This advances the tipping and cueing capabilities of the Greek armed forces to identify and track large objects such as ships and calculate mission-relevant risk levels.

  • The Hellenic Air Force is using IRIS-T missiles (Hellenic Air Force Undated-b) carried by F-16BLK 52+ and F-16BLK 52+ADV aircraft. They provide improved accuracy as the imaging IR seeker head in conjunction with intelligent image processing allows for autonomously identifying the target to select the best aiming point.

  • SPIKE non-line of sight (NLOS) is an advanced electro-optical/infrared missile system that can integrate data through machine-learning techniques, enabling a highly accurate target image acquisition process. The system is coupled with Orbiter 3 UAVs as target designators (Egozi 2023).

5.3 Border Security

At the intersection of defense and national security, border security is a strategic priority for Greece as the prevention of irregular immigration proves challenging. Consequently, Greece is emphasizing deterrence, introducing border surveillance systems that implement automated information management in the field through data collection. Surveillance solutions, which were field-tested in 2021, consist of a network of long-range cameras and radars installed along the Greece-Turkey border, transmitting real-time image and data on border conditions (Soulioitis 2021).

Due to increased pressure by irregular immigration, the land border with Turkey in Evros is heavily populated with advanced technological products exploited by Greek police and border control. For example, REACTION (REal-time ArtifiCial inTellIgence for bOrders surveillance via RPAS data aNalytics to support Law Enforcement Agencies) is a follow-up of multiple EU projects (CERETAB, AIDERS and ROBORDER). Operated by the Ministry of Migration & Asylum and developed by CERTH-ITI, REACTION aims to build a comprehensive platform and intelligence architecture for border surveillance by fusing multiple data streams obtained from UAVs through AI (Ministry of Migration & Asylum Undated). AKRITAS and NESTOR are two other advanced border surveillance systems in use. Both aim to provide pre-frontier situational awareness beyond maritime and land borders for early warning through thermal imaging and AI-enhanced radio frequency spectrum analysis technologies (Frontex 2022; Cordis Undated-a).

Similarly, sea borders are being monitored by the Hellenic Coast Guard making use of advanced EU projects such as PROMENADE (Artificial intelligence and big data for improved maritime awareness) (Cordis Undated-b). It focuses on automatic vessel detection, tracking and behavior analysis based on machine-learning. This multi-sensor and multi-source environment is streamlined with AI-data fusion techniques to operational rooms operated in tandem by defense, police and coast guard forces to provide for increased situational awareness. A further case in point is ARESIBO, a research project in which the Naval Cadet School participates in conjunction with the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens and CERTH. This project is meant to “enhance the current state-of-the-art through technological breakthroughs in Mobile Augmented Reality and Wearables, Robust and Secure Telecommunications, Swarm Robotics and Planning of Context-Aware Autonomous Missions, and AI, to implement user-friendly tools for border and coast guards” (ARESIBO Undated).

Although these systems mostly concern officials of the Ministry of Citizen Protection, they do not exclude the participation of the MoD, since the Greek Army personnel is involved in joint patrols with the police. This offers the armed forces opportunities to gain first-hand experience in operating non-defense electronic surveillance systems. Additionally, the External Border Control and Surveillance System is aimed at strengthening the national ability to control and monitor the external borders, involving the supply of equipment accompanied by the necessary software. That the officers belonging to the security and defense branches of the Greek state are jointly working in the respective control rooms suggests a need for inter-agency information sharing mechanisms and interoperability requirements. Moreover, the operational deployment of THORAX will advance data sharing as defense, police, and coast guard forces will use a common approach to data dissemination.

6 Training for Defense AI

Training for and with AI has been high on the MoD’s priorities list. On several public occasions, top MoD decision-makers have underlined the value of AI (plus quantum technologies, robotics, and autonomous weapon systems) as a means towards enabling military prowess. Also, they have emphasized the value of lifelong learning, continuous education, and training as a means for gearing up for the complexity of modern operations (Hellenic National Defense General Staff 2022a). Against this background, MoD personnel are actively encouraged to seek relevant educational opportunities. Training for and with AI takes place via simulation in operational settings, within the military academies and at the postgraduate level, and through conferences and other entrepreneurial-minded activities.

6.1 Simulation-Based Training

A case in point regarding enhanced operational training has been the inauguration of the Synthetic Training Squadron on Andravida Air Base (Hellenic Air Force 2022, Undated-c). The squadron aims to enhance interoperability between special forces and air power by exploiting the operational characteristics of its 11 simulators. Making use of augmented reality technology coupled with AI offers a richer and more realistic behavior of simulated individuals, teams, and platforms in target-rich and complex environments.

The Hellenic Air Force personnel has completed the operational deployment of the simulators, underlining the proficiency of the staff in using and developing advanced technology systems. Additionally, the establishment of the Flight Training Center (FTC) in Kalamata Air Base with its Mission Training Center will upgrade the operational training of aircrews through new technologies and flight simulators (Mononews 2022). Cutting-edge technologies exploited in FTC will use data-driven tools for optimizing training delivery built on adaptive training platforms powered by AI.

6.2 Military Education

Education in military academies, participation in postgraduate programs on new technologies, the development of educational programs for officer schools and the organization of conferences currently constitute the main avenues for the personnel of the Hellenic Armed Force to acquire new skills related to AI.

The Hellenic Army, Naval, and Air Force Academies provide the basic education of new officers. These academies have incorporated themes of disruptive and emerging technologies in their educational programs. In addition to acquiring advanced mathematical skills in functional analysis, numerical methods, and probability theory, students proceed to advanced AI-relevant topics such as optimization problems by way of using neural networks, distributed systems, signal processing, and data fusion (Hellenic Air Force Academy 2023a; Hellenic Army Academy 2022; Hellenic Naval Academy 2023b). These place emphasis on making use of AI in applied subjects such as the detection of noise propagation, data distribution, and border control systems.

Historically, Greek military officers have been actively seeking postgraduate educational opportunities both within and outside of their operational training necessary for their grade. Officers study at purely civilian universities, obtaining postgraduate degrees that treat the mathematical aspects of AI (Applied Mathematics), optimization in real-life problems, (Machine Learning and Deep Learning in structural, geotechnical and bridge engineering) and core IT-relevant aspects.

The Hellenic Army has formalized cooperation agreements with Greek universities for offering postgraduate opportunities to its personnel. A case in point is the Hellenic Army Academy’s participation in two Masters of Science with the School of Production Engineering and Management of the Technical University of Crete (Hellenic Army Academy & Technical University of Crete Undated). The MSc in Intelligent Systems Engineering and the MSc in Operation Research and Decision-Making treat AI within the scope of computational intelligence, machine learning, big data analytics, and data science in relation to real-life operational conditions such as tracking of unmanned systems. An MSc in Cryptography, Security and Information Systems is offered by the Hellenic Army Academy to its army officers. Herein, analysis and evaluation of symmetric crypto methods using AI and methods for privacy-preserving machine learning and inference are a few domains of cryptography that are addressed through AI (Hellenic Army Academy Undated). Also, the Hellenic Naval Academy (2023a) recently signed a cooperation agreement with the National Centre of Scientific Research “Demokritos” for educational and R&D purposes in the fields of AI, machine learning, big data analytics, and new materials. Lastly, indicative of the increased focus on AI has been the recent foundation of the “Archimedes” Center for Research in Artificial Intelligence, Data Science and Algorithms. Operating as a Research Unit of the Athena Research Center (Athena Research Center Undated), it can provide research capabilities on relevant issues.

The Senior War Colleges of the three military services and other educational institutions—Supreme Joint War College and National Defense College—provide extra avenues to educate active-duty senior officers. These educational institutions provide courses that cover a wide range of topics related to national defense and military strategy in conjunction with defense AI and new technologies.

Another avenue for attaining educational experience is through NATO’s postgraduate opportunities. While there is no open-source data on the number of Greek officers attending such courses or the exact subjects of the offered courses, a digital search in Monterey’s Postgraduate School indicates that AI has been introduced as a key subject (Naval Postgraduate School Undated; America’s Navy 2023). In the EU context, AI-relevant educational opportunities should be explored in the context of the European Security and Defense College (ESDC).

In relation to extracurricular activities, one case has been the Common Module on Unmanned Aerial Systems provided by the Hellenic Air Force Academy (2023b) in collaboration with the ESDC. Therein, the technological principles of Unmanned Aerial Systems and their applications, specifications, and classification of different categories, types, and sensors were presented.

6.3 Conferences and Entrepreneurial-Minded Training Activities

Educational activities in the form of conferences on topics related to defense AI have been taking place. For example, the Hellenic Air Force has been organizing its Annual Air Power Conference, inter alia, to discuss early technology adoption to preserve operational advantage. The topic of AI has received attention in multiple conferences (Hellenic Air Force Undated-d). In a special section titled “Artificial Intelligence and Man in the Loop: Opportunities—Capabilities—Prospect,” the panel discussed how AI could influence developments in military conflicts and delved into relevant topics such as Machine Learning Methods on Noisy and Sparse Data.

A conference titled “Technology—Innovation, Defense, and Strategy,” aimed at senior officers, was organized in 2023 by the National Defense College. The purpose was to broaden the participants’ knowledge with an emphasis on the impact of innovation and the application of new technologies in the armed forces. The conference also addressed the use of AI in defense (Hellenic National Defence General Staff 2023). The topic was presented by researchers at the National Centre of Scientific Research “Demokritos” further indicating the links between the domestic research ecosystem and armed forces.

In 2022, the MoD conducted the Defense Innovation Challenge, focusing on situational awareness. The overall goal was to stimulate innovative in-house ideas that can help transform the operational horizon (General Directorate for Defense Investments and Armaments 2021). AI-related projects that sought to identify submarines (Submarine Identification with Artificial Intelligence) were shortlisted for future-proofing (Association of Graduates of Hellenic Air Force Technical NCO Academy 2022). The challenge made it clear that officers constitute a valuable source that the MoD should systematically tap into to enhance ongoing force transformation activities.

7 Conclusion

AI presents an innovation challenge for complex organizations such as ministries of defense. Such critical technologies contest existing inter-institutional operational modes and potentially alter ‘the way business is conducted’ both within these bureaucratic organizations and (most importantly) in relation to their institutional mandate. New technology development for military applications that exploit AI is surely a topic that policymakers and innovation managers must tackle in the coming years for good and bad reasons. Indeed, scholars of defense innovation have started incorporating the latest wave of technological development that AI represents into their analytic thinking and seek to unravel lessons for future leaders (Krepinevich 2023).

This chapter showed that Greek defense policy officials have actively taken steps to harness the potential of the technological and operational “window of opportunity” that AI presents. Several factors—such as long-standing bilateral problems with neighboring countries, looming tactical and operational gaps coupled with technological obsolescence due to the decade-long economic crisis—have prompted the MoD to actively seek industrial and defense materiel upgrades. In combination with the drive to revitalize the dormant defense industry and capitalize upon the highly educated military personnel, these factors have pushed the defense establishment towards riding the current scientific and technological wave. Still, despite notable progress, several long-term challenges remain to be tackled for the Greek military ecosystem to seize AI’s potential.

First and foremost, Greek defense planners should remain alert for scientific breakthroughs in the field. Operating a “black box” where algorithms and key optimization techniques remain unknown to military engineers, data scientists, and mathematicians is problematic for sustaining long-term operational advantages. Enhanced cooperation with the science establishment, focused bibliometric and technometric analysis, and network and centrality analysis to locate knowledge-rich areas of expertise should be the norm.

Second, participating in collaborative RD&I projects is an important avenue to access top-notch know-how and accumulate experience. Importantly, current and future operational requirements should systematically guide the selection of RD&I projects the Greek armed forces want to participate in. While such a future oriented, technology-based, tactical list is currently not publicly available, the aforementioned actions indicate a conscious approach in both closing existing operational gaps and leveraging technologies to leapfrog. Such know-how should start being transposed into the strategic and tactical planning of the country’s defense forces and the production lines of Greek firms.

Third, procuring cutting-edge defense material is a significant learning curve for military personnel. Thus, the MoD should move swiftly to become a proficient end user in current and future R&D projects. Greek defense procurement officials should actively negotiate specific conditions with foreign contractors to ensure that Greek armed forces are granted “enhanced” user rights related to new defense equipment. Additionally, domestic defense contractors should be given access to proprietary knowledge when engaging with international partners in co-production agreements. Enabling an operational relationship with domestic civilian universities and the country’s highly performant science diaspora is yet another channel to gather cutting-edge scientific and technological information on AI. This will also advance Greece’s understanding related to increasing vulnerabilities that are bound to appear in interconnected systems—ranging from cyber-attacks and manipulated and corrupt data to data transmission flows.

Fourth, the MoD should adopt a more systemic view to monitor defense AI-relevant policy discussions in NATO, European agencies, and other multilateral formats. Greek military delegates should “tag” and send AI-related information to a single point within the ministry for the latter to keep track of all concurrent activities. For example, NATO’s new Data and Artificial Intelligence Review Board (DARB) is a key forum to exchange best practices and views on AI (NATO 2022b). Greece will be appointing a representative to DARB and should use this forum to systematically gather information on international defense AI developments. The same holds true for European institutions like the European Defence Agency (EDA), the European Space Agency (ESA) and the European Network and Information Security Agency (ENISA) (European Space Agency 2023; ENISA Undated).

Finally, establishing a new function like the US Department of Defense’s Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office should be explored. A single administrative point would help establish and implement a unified defense AI vision, collect all relevant information in a structured manner, and streamline interagency overlap and push back organizational inertia and turf war. Further, this office could push towards greater collaboration with domestic academic and research institutions and international partners.

Apart from being a scientific, technological, and operational challenge, AI constitutes first and foremost a learning challenge. This chapter discussed the Greek defense establishment’s ability to ‘learning to learn’. While much remains to be done, there is reason to be optimistic.