On the occasion of the DEFEA exhibition which concluded in Athens Thursday, MBDA continues to contract projects with Greek companies as part of its industrial cooperation programme linked with the supply of the Hellenic Navy’s Defence and Intervention Frigates (FDI HN). The company is also looking to strengthen its cooperation in areas of research and in the development of joint projects.

Following previous contracts signed, in particular during the EURONAVAL 2022 exhibition, MBDA is now working with AKMON S.A. and MILTECH HELLAS S.A. for the production of electronic equipment and cables, and with SSA S.A. for integration activities on board the FDI.

Furthermore, MBDA recently signed another contract with SSA S.A. - in association with the Polytechnic University of Athens (NTUA) - in various cutting-edge fields such as artificial intelligence. Several research and development (R&D) contracts were also signed in 2022.

In addition to these initial contracts, and as part of the "R&D Booster" initiative in Europe, MBDA is seeking to develop additional research and development (R&D) projects to ensure the long-term viability of its cooperation with Greek partners. The ambition is to integrate them into MBDA's supply chain from the research and study phases of products and services, leading to jointly marketed “Made in Greece” products and services on the global market.

MBDA is therefore proposing to its current and potential Greek partners to start discussing projects related to MBDA’s activities. In fact, in order to explore additional opportunities with Greek industry stakeholders, MBDA will be participating in the upcoming “R&D Partners Days” organized by Naval Group in Athens in June.

Eric Béranger, CEO of MBDA, said: “Our ambition in Greece is to continue to develop fruitful partnerships and increase local participation. This is why, in addition to manufacturing activities, and as part of the “R&D Booster” initiative, MBDA is looking forward to expanding its long-term cooperation with Greek industrial partners to further develop new products that can be jointly introduced worldwide.”

These new activities are a continuation of the numerous collaborations already established with defence companies in Greece, which began more than 25 years ago in the framework of various equipment contracts for the Greek Armed Forces (Navy, Air Force and Army).

MBDA is a unique multi-national European group, a world-leader in the field of complex weapon systems, playing a key role in keeping nations safe. Created in the spirit of international co-operation, MBDA and its more than 14,000 employees work together to support the national sovereignty of France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK, and other allied countries worldwide.

As an accelerator for innovation, MBDA is the only European group capable of designing and manufacturing complex weapons to meet the full range of current and future operational requirements of the three armed forces (land, sea and air).

MBDA is owned by Airbus (37.5%), BAE Systems (37.5%) and Leonardo (25%).

MILTECH HELLAS S.A. is one of the leading Hellenic companies in the defence sector specializing in design and manufacture of high quality, cost effective electronic products for defence applications. The company has an extensive experience in Electro-optical Systems and Thermal imaging cameras. Its portfolio includes portable devices (uncooled thermal sights & monoculars, thermal binoculars) along with fixed surveillance systems (Thermal / Day cameras with integrated Laser Range Finder, GPS & Compass), for Land and Sea applications.

AKMON S.A. is a major Greek corporation that specializes in Defense & Aerospace Electronics, operating in cabling as well as in the consoles and cabinets manufacturing and assembling industry. The company was established in 1988 and operates from its own manufacturing facility located in the Industrial Park of Ano Liosia, west of Athens, with a team of high quality mechanical, electrical electronic engineers, skilled technicians and financial specialists.

SSA S.A. is a private Greek company founded in 1982, acting as contractor for custom built Turnkey engineering solutions in the field of specialised systems for the Public and the Private Sector. SSA has extensive experience and capabilities in the provision of numerous technical services such as System Integration & Interoperability, Installation and Setting to work services, System / Equipment Qualification (SRR, PDR, CDR, FAT, CoC, SIT, OAT), System / Equipment Commissioning, Documentation, Training, and On Site Technical Support.

The National Technical University of Athens (NTUA) was founded in 1837 and is the oldest Technical University in Greece. NTUA operate 194 laboratories, and faculty members publish annually more than 3.000 scientific papers. NTUA is the largest Registered Engineering Training Organization in Greece.

The Institute of Communications and Computer Systems (ICCS) of the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) of the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA) was founded in 1992. It was founded with the ‘charta’ to support the performance of top-quality research, development activities and the provision of scientific service to private and public bodies.