Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis attended the official ceremony marking the delivery of three new Diamond DA62 MPP aircraft to the Hellenic Fire Service, as part of Greece’s broader national strategy to modernize its aerial firefighting and disaster-response fleet. The event, held under the Ministry of Climate Crisis and Civil Protection, represents a milestone in the implementation of the “AIGIS” program, the most ambitious upgrade of Greece’s civil protection aerial assets in the country’s history.

The Prime Minister emphasized that the new aircraft represent not simply an improvement but a decisive leap forward in operational capability. Equipped with state-of-the-art electro-optical, thermal, and infrared sensors, the DA62 MPPs will function as aerial command-and-control hubs, collecting real-time data and supporting decision-making in wildfire suppression, natural disaster response, and broader surveillance missions. With an operational endurance exceeding seven hours and a range of more than 1,500 kilometers, the aircraft can remain over mission areas for extended periods, dramatically enhancing situational awareness and coordination.

Constructed in Austria and financed through the EU Recovery and Resilience Facility, the new aircraft are the first fixed-wing assets ever owned outright by the Hellenic Fire Service. Mitsotakis underlined that this acquisition is only the beginning: additional modern, purpose-built firefighting helicopters will follow, with the first two expected to arrive in summer 2026.

A central pillar of the country’s modernization agenda is the renewal of Greece’s Canadair fleet. The Prime Minister confirmed that the upgrade of the older Canadair aircraft is progressing rapidly, and that Greece will acquire seven new Canadair 515s (5 + 2).