Greece has wrapped up ALEXANDROS-26, a large-scale staff exercise held nationwide that rehearsed the reinforcement of island garrisons and the recapture of 'lost' territory in the eastern Aegean — scenarios with clear implications for Greek-Turkish tensions.
Why it matters
- All three main service commands, the Special Warfare Command and security forces took part; the stated aim was to test Greece's Crisis Management System.
- Amphibious, air-mobile and airborne units were deployed onto small Aegean islets, while Rapid Reaction units in Thrace were brought to the highest state of alert.
- The DELTA Rapid Reaction Force was activated in parallel to measure response times.
Running from 25 September to 2 October, the exercise saw Chief of the Hellenic National Defence General Staff General Dimitrios Choupis visit the operations centers of the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean High Military Command, the Navy and the Tactical Air Force. The fleet's FDI and MEKO 200 HN frigates, Type 214 HN submarines and Super Vita fast attack craft were held at full readiness. Athens says the French-built FDI frigates give the navy area air-defence capability for the first time; in joint training, the frigate KIMON reportedly locked onto F-16s at 100 kilometres and demonstrated simultaneous multi-target engagement.
Why it matters for Turkey
The scenario sends a direct message to Ankara: rehearsing island-recapture and pre-emptive operations suggests Greek planning in the Aegean is shifting from deterrence toward offensive options. KIMON-class area air defence could alter the air-superiority balance over the Aegean — a concrete development Turkish defence planners will have to factor in.
Source: ssbulten tercüme