Some of the most advanced tanks and armored vehicles that the European and American defense industry has to show off will be in Athens next week at the International Defense Equipment Exhibition. DEFEA 23.

Tanks and vehicles returned to the focus of interest due to their role on the battlefields of Ukraine and also after the announcement of the Greek interest in upgrading part of the Army’s tank potential. A few months ago, in fact, the modernization of the powerful Leopard 2A4 was discussed at KYSEA following the relevant proposals of the Supreme Military Council and SAGE.

The program is expected to preoccupy the next government, however, visitors to the exhibition will be able to learn about the developments and see the beastly battle tank up close Leopard 2A4 by Krauss Maffei Wegmann. The experts will even be informed about the full scope of the modernization that the manufacturing company has designed. Furthermore, the Leopard will be presented with the additional external active and passive armor developed by the Greek company EODH.

There is intense Greek interest in the AAV7A1 amphibious armored vehicles of BAESystems, which will also be present at DEFEA 23.

Athens is interested in acquiring 76 vehicles to meet the needs of the 32nd Marine Brigade and to partially replace the obsolete ABAKs. The Greek request has received the green “light” from the State Department and the Letter of Acceptance (LoA) is expected to start the negotiation process with the American government.

Of particular interest, however, is also expected armored combat vehicle CV90 of BAESystems, which will in fact belong to the MkIV version that incorporates all the innovative technologies developed by the company. The 32-ton TOMA built for the Swedish Armed Forces is expected to turn heads as it is one of the most comprehensive systems of its kind. The TOMA category has its honor and of course the KF41 Lynx of Rheinmetall Landsysteme could not be missing which is in the “target” of Athens, as part of an agreement with Germany that will also include the creation of a production line in Greece.

In Athens will also be found the “Patron(Philoctetes) of the French NEXTER. The VBCI wheeled armored vehicle features a T40 battle turret with a 40mm gun, MBDA’s Akeron-MP anti-tank missile launcher as well as a remote-controlled armament station with a 12.7mm machine gun. VBCI has been presented to the General Staff of the Army while NEXTER and EAS have signed a strategic cooperation agreement for the development of TOMA that will cover the needs of the Greek Army.

The wheeled armored vehicle “Soldier(Hoplite) will be presented in an anti-tank version armed with a 20 mm cannon and guided missile launchers. Hoplite manufacturer EODH will also present a prototype turret for the “Leonida” tracked vehicles that are available to the Hellenic Army and the Cypriot National Guard.

From the wheeled vehicles, the German light armored car could not be missing ENOK (LightArmored Patrol Vehicle) of ACS Armored Car Systems as well as the larger version ENOK 9.5 and its airborne version, ENOK AB. The ENOK is a modular tactical vehicle in service with the German Armed Forces and is based on the Mercedes G-Class chassis. One of the more interesting vehicle configurations is the ENOK AB Tankhunter equipped with SPIKE guided missiles. Another interesting participation is the Polaris Special Operations vehicle of North Aegean Slops, as well as the special purpose vehicle proposals of AADS, IVECO and also EDGE with the upgraded LRSOV (Long Range Special OperationsVehicle).

The wheeled car will also catch the eye Zuzana 2 cannon of Slovakia’s Konstrukta Defense 155mm anti-aircraft OERLIKON Twin Gun GDF009 as well as WB Electronics’ ZU-23.