Israel’s Defense Ministry has signed an agreement with the Hellenic Ministry of National Defense to lease several Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) Heron UAVs to Greece for border defense.

Particular reference was made to the strong ties that have been developed in recent years between Greece and Israel, as well as to the extensive cooperation that has been achieved in the field of defense, by the Greek Minister of National Defense Nikos Panagiotopoulos on completion of his official visit to Israel.

The first 14-hour operational flight of the unmanned aircraft (HERON 1) operated by FRONTEX for 600 hours of flight in a pilot operation, was completed on 25 September, according to a release from the Hellenic Coast Guard.