The DEFEA trade fair confirmed the growing importance of the defense industry not only in Europe
This year's DEFEA (Defence Exhibition Athens) trade fair, which took place between May 6 and 8 in Athens, was a major event in the defense and security industry. The fair, held under the auspices of the Greek Ministry of National Defense, hosted over 400 exhibitors from more than 35 countries and nearly 100 official delegations from 45 countries, confirming the importance of this event, which has become one of the key platforms for international cooperation in the field of defense and security.
The Hellenic Armed Forces have approximately 142,700 active soldiers and 221,350 reservists, which represents a total of more than 364,000 members of the armed forces. These figures rank Greece fifth among all NATO member states in terms of the size of its active armed forces. Greece's location in the eastern Mediterranean can be described as strategic, which is why great emphasis is placed on the defense of this region. The Greek armed forces consist of three main components. As in other European countries, Greece has embarked on a major modernization of its armed forces with the aim of increasing the overall capabilities and readiness of the Greek army. This plan includes significant investments in new military systems, technologies, training and infrastructure, as reflected in this year's DEFEA trade fair, where major arms companies from around the world presented their products. The latest innovations and technological developments in land, sea, air, cyber, and space assets and systems were on display. The fair was also attended by prominent representatives of the EU and NATO, as well as representatives of institutions and agencies such as DG DEFIS, EDA, EDF, EDIDP, OCCAR, NSPA, DIANA, HCDI, and the Greek initiative to support an innovative defense ecosystem.
The DEFEA trade fair was dominated by advanced missile systems and a comprehensive range of precision-guided munitions, which are crucial on today’s modern battlefield, as are autonomous systems (UAVs, UGVs, USVs, UUVs) and anti-drone technologies capable of neutralizing individual unmanned aircraft and entire cooperating formations (swarms). In this regard, we were particularly impressed by the Cyprus exhibition. The event also featured helicopters, main battle tanks, armored vehicles, multiple launch rocket systems, artillery, communication systems, small arms, various types and calibers of ammunition, guided missiles, and strategic weapons.
Among the 98 delegations that visited the DEFEA trade fair were high-ranking political and military representatives from many countries, including ministers and deputy ministers of defense from Armenia, Cyprus, Romania, Hungary, Serbia, Bulgaria, and Montenegro. The fair was also attended by representatives of the French Directorate General for Defense Equipment and Investments, as well as prominent representatives from Estonia, Saudi Arabia, and other countries. Representing the host country were representatives of the Greek Ministry of National Defense, the General Directorate for Defense Equipment and Investments, the General Staff of the Greek Armed Forces, the Greek Police, the Fire Brigade, the Coast Guard, and the Ministry of Development. The fair was also attended by high-ranking military representatives from the United States, Ukraine, Egypt, Australia, Italy, Spain, Poland, Israel, Jordan and other countries, along with representatives of the defense industry from 16 countries, including Austria, Germany, the Netherlands, Lithuania, France, Italy, Portugal and India.
The dominant separate exhibition space among Czech defense industry representatives was occupied by a joint presentation of Tatra Export, Czechoslovak Export, MSM Group, and Excalibur Army. The latter company brought the latest generation of the RM-70 VAMPIRE rocket launcher to the fair – a 122 mm multi-barrel rocket launcher that carries 40 Grad rockets directly in the main barrel and another 40 rockets in the loading device. This system was presented in more detail by Pavel Doško, Director of Land Equipment Business Development at CSG. "It is a modern fire system mounted on the latest generation of Tatra eight-wheel chassis with an armored Puma cabin from Excalibur Army. The system is unique in that it is capable of arriving at any unprepared firing position, aiming very quickly and firing all 40 missiles, then reloading another 40 missiles very quickly, firing again and disappearing before the enemy is able to react in any way," Pavel Doško told our editorial team.
Video: DEFEA 2025: RM-70 VAMPIRE multiple rocket launcher / DEFENSE MAGAZINE
The RM-70 VAMPIRE rocket launcher is equipped with a range of sensors that provide data for the fire control system, ensuring very fast response times. "This is really important on a modern battlefield, which is full of different counter-battery measures, like radars, enemy fire, surveillance drones, suicide drones, and other systems," Pavel Doško pointed out. The latest version of the RM-70 VAMPIRE multiple rocket launcher is dominated by the armored Puma cabin, which offers a higher level of ballistic protection, mine protection, and a number of other improvements, such as a special system for opening and closing heavy armored doors with both automatic and manual options, even when the vehicle is overturned. The cabin also features a replaceable combat filter system for when the vehicle is driving through contaminated areas. Inside the artillery superstructure itself are new precision engines, new types of transmissions, improved sensors, and a range of other features. "Another improvement is the implementation of an independent power source so that the vehicle can generate the energy needed for operation even without the engine running, allowing it to remain in a standby position for some time and then respond very quickly to any request to perform a firing task," Doško added.
In connection with the RM-70 VAMPIRE rocket launcher, the ammunition used is also interesting. It is manufactured by the Slovak company MSM Group, which also exhibited at the fair, primarily 155 mm artillery ammunition and various types of mortar shells. The VAMPIRE can work with both classic unguided Grad rockets and modern smart ammunition. "Depending on the specific type chosen by the customer, either a programming unit must be implemented in the ballistic computer, or the rocket must be programmed by other means so that the rocket knows exactly where to aim before it leaves the barrel," Pavel Doško told CZ DEFENCE. Thanks to the possibility of using modern ammunition, the RM-70 VAMPIRE rocket launcher has doubled its range from the original 20 kilometers to 40 kilometers.
An interesting feature of the Czechoslovak Export exhibition was a light unmanned aircraft that the company is offering to the Greek fire department. "The aircraft is intended for observation, which proves very useful during the large-scale wildfires that occur annually in Greece. Thanks to this UAV, the Greek fire brigade will be able to observe the development of fires and thus fight them more effectively," Juraj Leško, Regional Sales Director at Czechoslovak Export, told our editorial team.
Tatra vehicles attracted considerable interest, even within the exhibits of various exhibitors who presented their systems at DEFEA on Tatra chassis. "We have several partners around the world who use our chassis, and they adapt their exhibition presentations accordingly, often showcasing models of their systems mounted on Tatra chassis," said Vladimír Sokolovský, Commercial Director of Tatra Export, who also emphasized the versatility of the Czech chassis. "Tatra is definitely suitable for all types of superstructures. We focus, of course, on off-road vehicles, radars, weapon systems, but also logistics vehicles for supply support and so on," added Sokolovský, noting that Greece is a very interesting market for Tatra Export, which represents Tatra Trucks. "We would certainly like to build on the history that exists here, because Tatra trucks have served and continue to serve in the Greek army. We have a lot to offer. The key is the unique and functional design of the vehicle. Although Tatra has been on the market for more than a hundred years, it still manages to surprise the competition. Even those interested in our products are surprised that we are the only company in the world to manufacture such a system and that our chassis system has capabilities that are completely different from those of other manufacturers," added sales director Vladimír Sokolovský.
This year's DEFEA 2025 defense exhibition fully realized its potential as a venue for various corporate and intergovernmental cooperation initiatives. It also revealed a new trend, namely the efforts of individual countries to return broad development and manufacturing capabilities to their national industrial complexes, thereby reducing their dependence on large global suppliers.
