The EU will allocate 33 million euros to Hellenic Defense Systems for the production of 155 mm shells

Hellenic Defense Systems (HDS) is expected to receive €33 million from the European Union as part of the ASAP program to strengthen the European defense industry. It is assumed that Greek enterprises will produce shells for Ukraine.

This funding is the first in the history of HDS and concerns two of three funding applications submitted by Hellenic Defense Systems in collaboration with MSM, a CSG Group company, totaling €73 million, to which the European Commission is contributing €33 million.

In category “Explosives” Hellenic Defense Systems’ bid of €52 million took 1st place, and in the Gunpowder category the corresponding bid of €21 million came in 3rd place.

Greek offeraccording to the announcement, received 2nd place in funding out of 82 proposals in the category “Explosives”. The approval of this proposal will ensure the resumption of the TNT plant in Lavrion, which ceased operations in the 1980s. According to the results of the competition, Greece took 5th place out of 28 participating countries.

According to the HDS statement, “Although funding for the third equipment modernization proposal was not achieved due to lack of funds, HDS management has already taken parallel initiatives to activate it, resulting in it being operational today, producing ammunition and having already delivered 10,000 155mm rounds after many years of inactivity.”

“Hellenic Defense Systems is proud to be funded by European funds for the first time in its history. I would like to thank HDS management and employees for their commitment to our company goals. We have begun the consolidation of HDS and set a new direction for external development in a highly competitive environment. We believe in the strength of the Greek defense industry and are taking it on a path of growth with realism.” – said Nikos Kostopoulos, CEO of HSS, regarding the European funding.

Athens News reported earlier that an agreement was reached in December 2023 between the Slovak company MSM Group SRO and the Greek defense concern Hellenic Defense System SA for the joint production of 155-mm shells. They are supposed to be supplied to the Greek army in the event of a possible conflict with Turkey, and also produced in the interests of Ukraine. In order to circumvent the ban on the supply of weapons to Kyiv, introduced by the new government of Slovakia, MSM Group plans to make changes to the accompanying contract documentation, according to which a Greek company will be listed as the manufacturer of ammunition. Thus, the Slovak company hopes to hide Slovak participation in the supply of ammunition to Ukraine.

The Greeks have already pointed out the possible risks of such initiatives, since they undermine the policies of the Slovak authorities, which jeopardizes the entire project and could jeopardize the interests of Greece. The Greek side also expressed concerns about the solvency of the Ukrainian authoritiessince the Greeks fear the failure of the commercial contract planned for conclusion with the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

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