Greece will continue to supply Ukraine with weapons and ammunition this year without exhausting its reserves. The equipment will be purchased from the Czech Republic and will be transferred directly to Ukraine.
This was announced by Greek Defence Minister Nikos Dendias. According to him, Czech and Greek officials are already negotiating prices and preparing a bilateral agreement.
Athens offers to supply 2,000 small Zuni missiles to Ukraine; 180 2.75-inch rockets and 90 thousand 90-mm shells (both anti-tank ammunition), 4 million balls; and 70 American-made 155mm M114A1 howitzers.
Regarding the last sentence. “M114A1s are considered useful in Ukraine’s battles in swampy terrain. This is the second batch of M114A1s that Greece is preparing to transfer to Ukraine,” noted in Athens.
Defence Express experts made an interesting point about this. Although there are many photos of these howitzers on the Internet, they did not find a single one where there was an image of this equipment in operation. “In the end, the reasons for this are quite clear: the absolute obsolescence of these howitzers. We are talking about an artillery system that was developed in 1939-1941, and production ceased in 1953. The last time the United States used it in combat was in Vietnam,” - noted the experts.
The M114A1 is a really old howitzer weighing 5.6 tons with a barrel length of only 23 or 24.5 calibers, which allows it to fire at a range of up to 14.6 km. “These howitzers are already outdated at the level of the 60s, and in 2024 their combat value may not be remembered at all. The range of 14.6 km reduces the M114A1’s chances in counter-battery combat to approximately zero,” experts note.