A Greek-made anti-drone system called “Centaur” has become the first in Europe to be successfully tested in combat after it shot down two Houthi drones during an EU mission in the Red Sea, a key milestone for Greece's expanding defense industry.
According to a Reuters report, the combat test took place a year ago when the system, deployed on an EU patrol vessel, detected and destroyed two unmanned aerial vehicles launched by Houthi rebels from Yemen.
“It is the only anti-drone system tested in battle that was manufactured in Europe,” Kyriakos Enotiadis, Director of Electronics at the Hellenic Aerospace Industry (EAB), told Reuters.
The achievement is part of a broader push by Greece to develop a domestic defense industry with global reach.
Pantelis Tzortzakis, CEO of the Hellenic Defense Innovation Center, stated that the country's ambition is "to export as much as we spend annually on defense."
This outlook is supported by companies like ALTUS, co-owned by Mr. Zacharias Sarris, which is already exporting surveillance drones.