Defense News - Greece

Cash-strapped Greece is considering a free offer of hundreds of redundant M1A1 Abrams tanks extended by the US government, the Greek army said on Wednesday, December 7, 2011. Ta Nea daily newspaper of Greece reported that the tanks, stored in Nevada, saw action in the 1990-1991 Gulf War and were first offered by the US government a year ago.

American made M1 Abrams main battle tank is also in service now in the Iraqi Army

“This is a free offer,” army spokesman Yiannis Sifakis told AFP. “The only cost will be that of transport, which is estimated in the region of eight million euros ($11 million),” the spokesman added.

The state council on foreign policy and defence will have the final say on whether the offer is taken up, Sifakis said.

Greece is in the grip of a debt crisis that has forced the government to freeze procurement orders for tanks, frigates and fighter jets.

The country has traditionally been one of the world’s heaviest defence spenders per capita owing to decades of rivalry with neighbouring Turkey.

Greece has in the past bought tanks from Germany and there have been reports that Berlin has recently tried to sell updated versions of its Leopard model.

Next year, Athens has allocated more money to military equipment orders — one billion euros compared to 600 million euros a year earlier — but the defence ministry will cut its running budget by 1.4 percent.