On Friday, 25 September 2026, the Chief of the Hellenic National Defence General Staff (HNDGS), General Dimitrios Choupis, visited the Hellenic European Union Operations Headquarters (EL EU OHQ) in Larisa, where he toured the new Joint Operations Centre of EUNAVFOR ASPIDES.

During the visit, the operation’s commander, Rear Admiral Vasileios Gryparis HN, briefed General Choupis on the latest developments in the Red Sea area of operations. The briefing also covered the organisation of the new centre and the capabilities available to personnel responsible for planning, coordinating and monitoring the operation.

The Joint Operations Centre is designed to bring together information from multiple operational sources. Its command and control systems allow personnel to collect, combine and assess that information, then use it to establish and continually update a common operational picture. This gives commanders and staff a shared view of developments in the area of operations and supports the coordination of naval and air assets.

The centre also provides the facilities needed to plan activities and monitor their execution. As conditions change, personnel can assess new information against the operational picture and communicate updates to the units involved. These functions are particularly important for an operation conducted across a wide maritime area, where timely information and coordination between headquarters and deployed assets are essential.

Secure, interoperable communications form a central part of the centre’s capabilities. Satellite communications and videoconferencing links with units at sea enable the headquarters to exchange information directly with deployed personnel. Together with the centre’s information systems, these links support timely decisions and the exercise of command and control in real time.

General Choupis’s visit provided an opportunity to review both the current operational situation in the Red Sea and the facilities through which EUNAVFOR ASPIDES directs and supports its activities.