As part of its ongoing expansion of operations in and around Africa, the U.S. military has recently begun operating drones from a Greek airfield.
MQ-9 Reapers, the more advanced replacement for the venerable Predator drone, deployed last month to Larissa air base in eastern Greece near the Aegean Sea “on a temporary basis as they transition to a different location,” according to Auburn Davis, the chief of media operations for U.S. Air Forces in Europe and Air Forces Africa, who noted that the remotely piloted aircraft, or RPA, are unarmed and engaged in intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance missions known as ISR.
If the threats from "the south" in Africa are the focus, why wouldn't the drones be based in Sicily or Crete?
Of course, if the military had The AFRICOM Queen outfitted to operate drones, it could sail closer to Africa than these locations.
This article reports that the drones are in Greece temporarily until a base in Africa is ready for them; and also notes that the Turks are a little unsettled.
It seems far more likely that the drones are to watch the Russians (and Turks, as long as we're there) in the Aegean Sea and eastern Mediterranean Sea. And that is true even if the drones eventually move to Africa.
