A new batch of M1117 Wheeled Armored Reconnaissance Vehicles delivered as surplus material (EDA) from the USA arrived and was unloaded at the port of Thessaloniki today.
In the meantime, the procedures continue under the agreement to exchange BMP-1 armored vehicles of the Greek Army with TOMA Marder 1A3 from Germany. In the German press, there are reports that Rheinmetall is bringing Marder 1A3 back into service with factory maintenance work, criticizing the lack of an export permit. These are publications of an oppositional nature, which relate the situation to the critical attitude towards the Solz government, which is described as hesitant and indecisive in strengthening Ukraine with additional war material.
In fact, it ignores the fact that an agreement has been reached with the Greek government and the Marder 1A3s will be allocated to it, as announced by Chancellor Soltz on May 31st. Therefore, they cannot be made available to Ukraine, which will receive the BMP-1s withdrawn from the Greek Army, while the export license for the Marder 1A3s will concern Greece.
On September 13, Rheinmetall announced that it has returned 16 Marder 1A3s to service and is continuing work on another 14, with 70 more vehicles to follow. The announcement was made by the company because the vehicles are its own property (not from the German Army as many mistakenly believe) and their export requires government approval anyway. But without the completion of the negotiations with the Greek side, based on the agreement in principle, the implementation cannot proceed yet.
The delay in the procedures is due to various factors and in Greece it is exploited by the opposition to maintain criticism of the government in every way. Estimates, based on the development of things, place the start of Marder 1A3 deliveries in Greece in October.
