Greek firm gives old military jeeps a modern makeover

Yunanistan'ın ana askeri araç üreticisi ELVO, Yunan Ordusu'nun yaşlanan araç filosunu tamamen değiştirmek yerine ömrünü uzatmak için inşa edilen yeni bir onarım programı kapsamında modernize edilen ilk Mercedes G-Serisi "ciplerini" sergiledi. Yükseltilen araçlar yaklaşık 30 yaşındadır. ELVO is fitting a new engine and automatic transmission, electric air conditioning and a redesigned interior with adjustable, suspension-equipped seats. On the outside, the vehicles get 360-degree day and night camera systems, all-LED lighting, an anti-İHA protection net, thermal and visual camouflage, reinforced windshields built to resist rioters, and mirrors that won’t shatter. The vehicles are built to U.S. and NATO-aligned military standards known as MIL-STD, and ELVO says they can also be configured to carry weapon systems. Bu yaklaşım, bazı orduların araç bütçeleri daraldıkça yaptığı daha geniş bir değişimi yansıtıyor. Rather than retiring an entire fleet and buying new replacements, ELVO is retrofitting vehicles already in service, vehicles it has direct experience with since it supplied more than 10,000 Mercedes 290GD and Mercedes 240 jeeps, along with over 12,000 Steyr trucks, to Greece and Cyprus over the decades. ELVO Genel Müdürü Antonis Vitetzakis, "ELVO, askeri araç modernizasyonunun neler sağlayabileceğini yeniden tanımlıyor" dedi. “By combining our deep engineering expertise with the latest technologies, we can bring existing fleets into the modern era, combining decades of operational service with new capabilities while maximizing the value of investments our customers have already made.” ELVO, based in Thessaloniki, has spent more than 50 years building vehicles for the Greek military, including the Leonidas family of armored personnel carriers and Steyr-based trucks. The company also holds a certified production and assembly line for Leopard 2 HEL tanks, the Hellenic Army’s variant of the German-designed Leopard 2. In August 2025, Israeli-founded holding company SK Group acquired full ownership of ELVO, marking the group’s first operational base in Europe. G-Serisi yenilemesi bu yıl ELVO'da daha geniş bir genişlemenin ortasında geliyor. In May 2026, Rheinmetall signed a memorandum of understanding with ELVO to assemble military trucks and specialized systems for the Hellenic Armed Forces. In September, ELVO said separately that it would invest 40 million euros, roughly $46 million, to expand its Sindos manufacturing plant and add İHA production capacity, drawing on unmanned systems technology from SK Group, a project expected to create about 300 jobs. Bağımsız raporlama kaynak gerektirir. Patreon'da bize katılın.