The international inter-service exercise Medusa 15–2026 has been taking place in the wider area of Crete, the Myrtoan Sea and the sea area south of Karpathos from 10th to 19th September. Participating in the exercise were the Armed Forces of Greece, Egypt and the Republic of Cyprus, along with military assets from France and Italy. Also present as observers were Serbia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrein and Mozambique.
The Myrtoan Sea, between the Cyclades and the Peloponnese south of Athens, was one of the venues for naval operations during the Medusa 15 exercise. Image: Google Maps.
According to an announcement by the Hellenic National Defence General Staff (GEETHA), this year’s Medusa exercise was characterised by greater inter-service cooperation, combining naval, aerial, amphibious and terrestrial activities. The aim is to strengthen cooperation and interoperability between the participating forces.
Focus on drones and new threats
Special weight was given for the first time this year to the use of UAVs, including FPV [First Person View or remote control] drones as well as the countering of modern drone attacks. Scenarios included the deployment of multiple simultaneous attacks by a swarm of drones, as well as the activation of Counter-Unmanned Aerial Systems procedures for their location, tracking and neutralisation. Among the measures used was Kentaurus, a Greek system for the countering of drone attacks which is installed on the frigate Psara, for the protection of forces and vital infrastructure.
Air-sea and special operations
Medusa 15–2026 combined large scale operational activities with training in the countering of new forms of threat and the deployment of modern technological capacities. During the exercise there were aerial and air-sea operations, naval and anti-submarine missions, airborne and seaborne landings, as well as operations by special forces. The scenarios also included the protection of vital marine and energy infrastructure, with the coordination of naval, aerial, amphibious and special forces. The assets deployed included:
– frigates, missile boats and corvettes
– helicopter carriers, submarines and landing craft
– fighter aircraft and helicopters
– unmanned aerial vehicles
– amphibious and Special Forces units.
From bilateral to multinational exercise
Medusa began in 2015 as a bilateral airborne exercise between Greece and Egypt, the first of which took place in Greece. Since then it has been held on a regular basis, with the countries alternating as hosts and a gradual expansion of participation. In 2025 it was held in Egypt, while the previous one to be held on Greek soil was in 2024.
(ERT News, 17/09/26)
The ships participating in the exercise
Prior to the start of the exercise, the flagship of the Egyptian fleet, the helicopter carrier Gamal Abdel Nasser was berthed at Souda along with other participating warships. The Nasser had moored on the morning of Thursday 10th September at the quay reserved for cruise ships, while at the ferry port alongside and the Crete Naval Station were the Egyptian frigate Al Aziz and the fast missile boat Fuad Zekry as well as the Greek frigate Psara.
The helicopter carrier
The helicopter carrier, officially ENS Gamal Abdel Nasser–L1010, is a ship of French construction which was originally ordered by Russia along with another of the same type and had been given the name Vladivostock. However, following the events of 2014, with the uprising of Russian speakers in the Donbas and Lukansk areas in eastern Ukraine and the annexation of Crimea, the French government banned the sale to Russia. The two helicopter carriers were then sold to Egypt and took the names of two of the country’s former presidents, Gamal Abdel Nasser and Anwar Sadat.
The Gamal Abdel Nasser carries 16 attack, transport and antisubmarine-capable helicopters, and is equipped with modern anti-aircraft systems and machine guns. It has a length of 200 m and a speed of 18.8 knots (34.8 km/h).
Other warships
The Fuad Zekry is an Ambassador class MK III fast missile craft of 63 m length and a speed of 41 knots (76 km/h) which was built by the US company VT Halter Marine and commissioned in 2013.
The Al-Aziz is the lead ship of the Egyptian Al-Aziz class of frigates, built to the MEKO 200 design of the German shipbuilder Blohm+Voss. It has a length of 118 m and a speed of 28 knots (52 km/h), and was commissioned in October 2022.
The MEKO design has been widely adopted since the first ships were constructed in the late 1970s. At least 6 versions of the design have been produced to date. The acronym stands for “Mehrzweck-Kombination” (multi-purpose-combination), a concept based on modularity of armament, electronics and other equipment, aimed at facilitating maintenance and reducing costs. MEKO 200 design frigates are currently in service with the navies of Algeria, Australia, Egypt, Greece, New Zealand, Portugal, South Africa and Turkey.
Greece has four MEKO 200HN frigates, of which the Psara is one. The first of the four, Hydra, was built by Blohm+Voss in Hamburg and commissioned in 1992. The other three were constructed at Hellenic Shipyards at Skaramagas. Spetsai was commissioned in 1996, Psara in 1998 and Salamis in 1999.
The Greek Kentaurus antidrone system
The Kentaurus drone system installed on the Psara is of Greek manufacture and can be used both on naval units and for the protection of armed forces on land. It works by interfering in the drone’s navigational system and thus rendering it “blind” and inoperable. It has a range of 25 to 40 km and was designed with a view to countering the Turkish Anka and Bayraktar drones, which fellow-NATO member Turkey is manufacturing and exporting in large numbers.
Activities at Maleme
The Medusa 15 exercise culminated in the Gulf of Chania on Thursday 17th and Friday 18th September, with the ships manoeuvring off Theodorou island and land-based operations focussed on Maleme aerodrome. The final exercise was an opportunity to witness the events at close quarters, and the Press Officer for the National Defence General Staff, Lieutenant-Colonel Maria Kisiliou, was on Maleme beach to describe the progress of the exercise for the assembled press corps.
Events on the final day included:
— Parachute jumps from Chinook helicopters in two waves by 17 paratroopers – eight Greek, seven Egyptian and two Cypriot.
— Air attacks on simulated targets by two Greek and two Egyptian F-16 fighter jets.
— Support of beach landings by H58D-Kiowa and AH-64 Apache helicopters of the Greek Air Force.
— A drone attack by six FPV drones on Maleme beach.
— Three waves of landings on the beach by Greek, Egyptian and Cypriot marines in Zodiac inflatables, followed by Greek Hummers armed with .50-calibre machine guns from Egyptian landing craft which had embarked on the Gamal Abdel Nasser helicopter carrier.
— “Fast rope” landings from a Chinook helicopter on Maleme aerodrome by Greek and Egyptian paratroopers.
Observer reactions
As reported by Haniotika Nea, the events were monitored by personnel from the participating nations from ships in the bay, while a substantial crowd of onlookers had gathered on Maleme beach at a safe distance from the operations. The officials were said to be satisfied with the efficiency of the exercise, which had proceeded more smoothly than the previous one in 2024, when the beach landings had been held up by difficulties in offloading the heavy vehicles.
(Haniotika Nea, 17/09/26, 18/09/26, inc. videos)
