Greece maintains one of NATO‘s largest tank forces, though many vehicles date to the Cold War era and hold limited utility in modern combat.
Greek military forces have historically operated close to home. While Greek warriors campaigned from Egypt to India under Alexander the Great and later fought Arab forces as part of the Byzantine Empire, modern Greece has deployed troops to distant conflicts only once. Elements of the Greek Armed Forces joined British operations in the Middle East and North Africa during World War II, but Athens directly contributed forces to a foreign conflict only during the Korean War when it supported the UN coalition.
Greece will now deploy its 25th Armored Brigade to the Orion 2026 military exercises in northern France. The brigade operates German-made Leopard 2A6 main battle tanks and Marder infantry fighting vehicles. The exercise represents one of the most extensive land forces training operations scheduled for next year and will test NATO capabilities in high-intensity conflict scenarios. Multiple alliance members are expected to participate.
Athens has pursued closer defense ties with Paris, including a 2021 strategic defense agreement. The Hellenic Armed Forces are currently acquiring French-made FDI frigates and Dassault Rafale omnirole jet fighters.
The Logistics Challenge
The deployment involves transporting tanks and infantry fighting vehicles over 2,000 kilometers from Greece to France, [a monumental undertaking](https://greekcitytimes.com/2025/12/11/biggest-ever-greek-armoured-deployment-to-france/#:~:text=Athens%2C – In what will be the,in France’s flagship Orion 2026 military exercise.) for the Hellenic Armed Forces. An undisclosed number of main battle tanks and infantry fighting vehicles will be loaded onto landing ships and transported to a French port, likely Le Havre in Normandy. The vehicles will then proceed overland to the Mailly-Champagne training area where Orion 2026 will be conducted. Approximately 300 members of the Hellenic Armed Forces will travel to France by air.
The French military conducted a similar deployment in 2023, sending 280 soldiers and Leclerc main battle tanks to train with Hellenic forces in northern Greece.
Greece’s Tank Arsenal
Greece operates one of NATO’s largest tank fleets with over 1,300 vehicles in service. The inventory includes approximately 170 modern Leopard 2A6 HEL variants manufactured domestically by Hellenic Vehicle Industry, and 183 Leopard 2A4 models that could be upgraded to the HEL standard. Athens also operates around 500 German-made Leopard 1A5/GR main battle tanks from the 1970s and hundreds of American-made M60s, including approximately 100 M60A3 TTS models.
NATO transferred many Cold War-era M60s to Greece in the early 1990s, where they remain in storage as reserves. Speculation has emerged in recent years that Athens may sell or scrap the M60s due to maintenance and modernization costs, and potentially retire the older Leopard 1A5/GR main battle tanks. Russia’s antiquated tanks have performed poorly in Ukraine, leading the Hellenic Armed Forces to conclude that such vehicles have limited value on the modern battlefield.
Greece maintains its large tank arsenal primarily due to longstanding tensions with neighboring Turkey. Both nations are NATO members, yet persistent tensions have driven both countries to invest heavily in their militaries in preparation for potential armed conflict.
Turkey also maintains a massive fleet. of tanks of questionable value.
Greece and Turkey share tensions dating to the 10th century when nomadic Turkic tribes invaded the Byzantine Empire, according to Stavros Atlamzoglou writing for The National Interest. The tensions remain strong more than a thousand years later. The two countries have clashed directly or indirectly several times over the past century. Concerns about Turkish aggression have forced Greece to invest heavily in tanks.
The M60s will remain in service rather than being scrapped, though they will not participate in the upcoming exercises.
