The second Drone Production Unit in Greece will be established at the Techniko Region Body Shop 316 in Toxotes, southwest of Xanthi, National Defense Minister Nikos Dendias said on Wednesday (Dec. 24), visiting the region as part of his Christmas and New Year tours.
Dendias said the unit will be able to manufacture 1,000 Category 1, First-Person View drones a month and will provide the Armed Forces with the capacity the new era demands.
The minister heard Christmas carols from Thrace and Corfu and was given a tour of the premises of the body shop where the drone unit will be based, and where the Department of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Systems is being completed. The area will include both the manufacture of drones, the installation of their electrical systems, and the systems' repairs. The department will also include a mobile unit for needs in the field. The minister said that Thrace is a region "of huge geopolitical importance," serving as the border of both Greece and Europe.
Dendias also paid a visit to the headquarters of the Supreme Military Administraition of Thrace in the area, where he also heard Christmas carols, followed by a visit to the Metropolis of Xanthi and Peritheorio, where he met and exchanged holiday wishes with Metropolitan Panteleimon.
Dendias was accompanied by the chief of the Hellenic National Defense General Staff and other high-level defense officers.