Seeking to strengthen the air defense network of its Ukrainian ally, Greece has decided to proceed with the transfer of RIM-7 Sea Sparrow missiles for the Frankenstein system operated by Kyiv’s forces, which integrates these missiles with Buk-M1 9A310M launch platforms. Specifically, this involves a batch of 24 missiles from the inventories of the Hellenic Navy and Air Force, which have determined that after four decades in service, these no longer meet the country’s operational standards.
It is worth noting that the U.S.-manufactured Sea Sparrow missiles to be transferred by Greece will not be the first to reach the Ukrainian Armed Forces, as Washington sent an initial batch in January 2023. As a result, Ukrainian artillery crews are already familiar with the system. These missiles are designed for intercepting aircraft, drones, and cruise missiles at short ranges and can be deployed from naval, land, or air platforms, depending on the variant.
Athens has emphasized that transferring this batch of missiles to Ukraine will not significantly affect Greece’s air defense capabilities in the Aegean. This is because Greece operates modern U.S.-made Patriot systems and older Russian-made S-300 systems. In both cases, Ukraine had requested Greece to send launchers of these systems along with the necessary ammunition and logistics materials, but the requests were denied due to the lack of direct replacements to sustain Greece’s current defense network in the near future.
For now, despite the specific support provided to Ukraine in terms of military equipment, Greece has sought to establish itself as a steadfast ally of Ukraine in its efforts to counter the Russian invasion. This is reflected on paper by the signing of a bilateral security agreement in October between the leaders of both nations. In concrete terms, it translates to Greece’s delivery of BMP-1 armored vehicles, weapons for Ukrainian infantry, various types of ammunition, and contributions to training future F-16 fighter pilots donated to Kyiv by its European allies.
Finally, highlighting some known characteristics of Ukraine’s so-called Frankenstein air defense system, it is worth mentioning that it is a reconfiguration of old Buk-M1 platforms (also known as SA-11 Gadfly in NATO) to enable the deployment of U.S.-supplied missiles. While detailed information remains scarce, previous reports indicate that the system features up to four missile launch tubes. Images have shown the RIM-7 Sea Sparrow with its folded fins, suggesting that the naval variant is being adapted for use in a land-based system. In addition to this system, earlier Frankenstein projects based on 2K12 Kub platforms were proposed by Poland and the Czech Republic, although there is no certainty about their progress.
Images used for illustrative purposes.
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