Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

As fighting rages in Ukraine, the US is sending drones to keep an eye on another tense corner of Europe

As fighting rages in Ukraine, the US is sending drones to keep an eye on another tense corner of Europe

US Air Force MQ-9s have been deployed to monitor southeastern Europe, where tensions are rising, and not just because of Russia.

Late last year, the US deployed MQ-9 Reaper drones to Greece's Larissa Air Base.

The deployment came amid Russia's ongoing attack on Ukraine, which has raised tensions throughout Europe, but the drones also arrived in Greece as that country and Turkey, both of which are NATO allies, wage a war of words over their longstanding territorial and political rivalries.
Their dispute has raised a new challenge for the US and for its NATO allies, as their leaders try to maintain the alliance's support for Ukraine and manage a new period of conflict with Russia.


Predator in the skies
US Air Force airmen do pre-flight checks on an MQ-9 at Andersen Air Force Base in Guam in May.


For security reasons, the US Air Force did not disclosed how many Reapers were deployed to the base, but local media has reported eight drones are now operating there.

The Reaper, which can be piloted remotely or fly autonomously, has a maximum endurance of 27 hours and can reach altitudes of 50,000 feet. The drone has "a unique capability" to perform strike missions, gather information, and track "high value" targets, the US Air Force says, and it played a prominent role in the war in Afghanistan.

Larissa Air Base, located in central Greece near the Aegean Sea, "is a strategic location" and the base, which was recently upgraded to accommodate the Reapers, will allow the drones "to easily support both the eastern and southern flanks of NATO," a spokesman for US Air Forces in Europe told Defense News. (Flight trackers have also reported a US-made RQ-4B Global Hawk landing at Larissa, suggesting the base can support even larger drones.)

The deployment was not in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the spokesman added, but their placement there "does support deterring and avoiding conflict with Russia."

A US Air Force F-15C at Larissa Air Base in May 2021.


NATO has in recent years paid more attention to its southeastern frontier, where it borders conflicts in the Middle East and increasingly contentious activity in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea. Since Russia attacked Ukraine in February 2022, the alliance has also heightened its attention on its eastern flank.
Both trends have raised Greece

's profile, especially for the US.

Supplies meant for Ukraine are often unloaded at the Greek port of Alexandroupolis and sent via rail through Bulgaria and Romania. The same network supports US deployments to the Black Sea region.

The US presence in the region has also increased considerably, with numerous US-Greek exercises, more shipments of US troops and equipment through Greece, and the deployment of more US assets to Greek bases.

The Reaper deployment and increased US-Greek military cooperation are made possible by an updated comprehensive defense agreement signed in October 2021, which also includes a mutual defense clause.


A complicated alliance
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, right, with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis in Istanbul in March 2022.


The US's enhanced presence in Greece comes at a time of heightened tensions between Greece and Turkey, which have roiled the alliance and frustrated the US in particular.

Greece and Turkey clash over a number of issues, including the ethnically divided island of Cyprus, maritime delineation zones, and energy exploitation rights in the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean.

They have come close to war numerous times in recent decades, and current tensions have increased after Turkey called into question Greece's sovereignty over islands in the Eastern Aegean. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has even threatened to attack Greece. The verbal sparring has raised concerns about the first open conflict between members of NATO.

Turkey, whose relationship with the US has deteriorated over a number of issues, has also been critical of the US-Greece relationship, particularly of their expanding military exchanges.

"The American military bases in Greece are so many that they cannot be counted," Erdogan said a month after the US and Greece signed their updated cooperation agreement, adding that, "Greece has practically become an outpost of America."

A US Army M1A2 tank is unloaded in Alexandroupolis in July 2021.


Turkish public opinion toward the US is also affected by American deployments to Greece, Ioannis Grigoriadis, an associate professor at Turkey's Bilkent University, told Insider.

"Amidst discussions about a 'truly independent' Turkish foreign and security policy, such developments can further reinforce an anti-American sentiment that has struck roots in Turkish public opinion in the last 20 years," Grigoriadis said.

Greece and Turkey will both hold national elections in the spring, leading some to see their statements as electoral posturing. Efforts to defuse the situation are underway, according to Greek reports.

The US had tried to remain neutral in Greece and Turkey's disputes and intervened on occasion to prevent a full-scale conflict, but now Washington faces a very difficult situation in trying to support Athens and manage tensions with Ankara, according to Ryan Gingeras, a professor at the Naval Postgraduate School.

"For Washington, maintaining peace may come down to two unfavorable choices," Gingeras wrote this month. The US could pressure Greece to "cede aspects of its sovereignty" and even abandon their mutual defense cooperation agreement, or the US could act as the "de facto guarantor" of Greece's sovereignty, which could entail planning for a conflict with Turkey — and raise questions about the integrity of NATO.

AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that Hungary will not adopt the euro because the European Union is falling apart.
Mayor in western Germany in intensive care after stabbing
Australian government pays Deloitte nearly half a million dollars for a report built on fabricated quotes, fake citations, and AI-generated nonsense.
BYD’s UK Sales Soar Nearly Nine-Fold, Making Britain Its Biggest Market Outside China
Latvia to Bar Tourist and Occasional Buses to Russia and Belarus Until 2026
Wave of Complaints Against Apple Over iPhone 17 Pro’s Scratch Sensitivity
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Trump Says Ukraine Can Fully Restore Borders with NATO Backing
Europe Signals Stronger Support for Taiwan at Major Taipei Defence Show
Germany Weighs Excluding France from Key European Fighter Jet Programme
Cyberattack Disrupts Check-in and Boarding Systems at Major European Airports
Björn Borg Breaks Silence: Memoir Reveals Addiction, Shame and Cancer Battle
When Extremism Hijacks Idealism: How the Baader-Meinhof Gang Emerged and Fell
JWST Data Brings TRAPPIST-1e Closer to Earth-Like Habitability
Trump Orders $100,000 Fee on H-1B Visas and Launches ‘Gold Card’ Immigration Pathway
France’s Looming Budget Crisis and Political Fracture Raise Fears of Becoming Europe’s “Sick Man”
Three Russian MiG-31 Jets Breach Estonian Airspace in ‘Unprecedentedly Brazen’ NATO Incident
European manufacturers against ban on polluting cars: "The industry may collapse"
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
Christian Brueckner Released from German Prison after Serving Unrelated Sentence
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
The conservative right spreads westward: a huge achievement for 'Alternative for Germany' in local elections
Pope Leo Warns of Societal Crisis Over Mega-CEO Pay, Citing Tesla’s Proposed Trillion-Dollar Package
Poland Green-Lights NATO Deployment in Response to Major Russian Drone Incursion
U.S. and China Agree on Framework to Shift TikTok to American Ownership
Le Pen Tightens the Pressure on Macron as France Edges Toward Political Breakdown
Czech Republic signs €1.34 billion contract for Leopard 2A8 main battle tanks with delivery from 2028
Penske Media Sues Google Over “AI Overviews,” Claiming It Uses Journalism Without Consent and Destroys Traffic
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
One in Three Europeans Now Uses TikTok, According to the Chinese Tech Giant
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
NATO Deploys ‘Eastern Sentry’ After Russian Drones Violate Polish Airspace
The New Life of Novak Djokovic
German police raid AfD lawmaker’s offices in inquiry over Chinese payments
Volkswagen launches aggressive strategy to fend off Chinese challenge in Europe’s EV market
France Erupts in Mass ‘Block Everything’ Protests on New PM’s First Day
×