DEFEA 2023 HAS BEEN SUCCESSFULLY CONCLUDED
On 9 May 2023, the Greek Minister of National Defence Mr. Nikos Panagiotopoulos inaugurated the international exhibition for Defence and Security DEFEA 2023. Deputy Minister Mr. Nikos Chardalias, as well as the chief of the National Defence General Staff General Konstantinos Floros attended the ceremony. Additionally, 55 official governmental and military delegations from 32 countries, 10 of which were headed by Ministers or Deputy Ministers of Defence where present as guests of honor of the exhibition.
The 2nd DEFEA – Defence Exhibition Athens 2023 was successfully concluded with significant representation from the top international defence industries, such as Rheinmetall, IAI, Dassault Aviation, Naval Group, Elbit, Rafael, KMW, Thales, TKMS, Lockheed Martin, Diehl Defence, BAE Systems, Leonardo, Fincantieri, Exail, ARQUUS, NEXTER, Schiebel, EUROSAM, H&K, P&W, CZUB, Martin Baker and many others. The event took place from May 9th to May 11th at the Metropolitan Expo.
The International Defence and Security Exhibition brought Greece to the forefront of defence and diplomatic interest, promoting collaborations between the Hellenic Defence Industry and major companies in the global defence market. A total of 346 exhibitors from Greece and abroad presented cutting-edge weapon systems to visitors from 78 countries, Additionally, a multitude of professional meetings (B2B) took place during the exhibition, resulting in the signing of significant agreements between domestic and international defence industry companies. In addition, the International Defence and Security Exhibition saw the participation of numerous European and international organizations and defence industry defence associations.
During DEFEA 2023, significant industrial cooperation agreements were signed that enhance Greece’s role and contribute to its economy and development. These include the acquisition of leading Greek electronics company Intracom Defense (IDE) by Israeli company Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), the agreement between Greek company EODH (Engineering Office Deisenroth Hellas) and German company KMW (Krauss-Maffei Wegmann) for the production of armor for Norwegian Leopard battle tanks, the comprehensive cooperation agreement between German company AUTOFLUG GmbH and the Greek-German consortium ALTHOM GmbH and ALTHOM Engineering E.P.E, as well as the signing of an agreement between the Hellenic Ministry of National Defence and French company MBDA for the support of the long-range SCALP EG missiles of the Hellenic Air Force.
The Minister of National Defence had consecutive meetings with his counterparts, present in the exhibition. Mr. Panagiotopoulos also attended an open discussion under the title “Greece at the Center of Geopolitical Developments” which was focused on the Raise of the Capabilities of the Armed Forces and Extroversion of the Greek Defence Industry.
Once again, DEFEA – Defence Exhibition Athens 2023 brought Greece to the forefront, creating significant opportunities for the development of the domestic defence industry, and strengthening the country’s defence and diplomatic footprint, laying the foundation for an even greater and more successful event in May 6-8, 2025.
