ATHENS

The largest ever military shipment from the US to Greece's Alexandroupolis port will arrive in November for a military exercise, Greek media reported on Monday.

A large number of helicopters, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), tanks, cannons, and artillery are expected to reach Greece in the weeks to come as part of an extensive military shipment that is of unprecedented scale.

The shipment, according to Greek media, will be part of a military drill that will take place in Romania, Bulgaria, the Balkans, and central Europe.

The same warship of USNS Yumma Spearhead-class that will carry out the load did so during a similar military drill last year.

Numerous military vehicles and equipment will be delivered to the region, including helicopters of the Romeo, Sikorsky, and Chinook types, as well as M1 Abrams tanks as part of the shipment.

Geoffrey Ross Pyatt, the US envoy to Athens, had previously stated that a record number of planes and helicopters will arrive in Alexandroupolis in November.

The US attaches such importance to the port of Alexandroupolis because it reportedly wants to strengthen both NATO and US forces in the Balkans and the Black Sea.

The increased presence of US and NATO in Alexandroupolis may cause disturbance to Russia, the Greek media added.

In May 2021, 15 NATO allies took part in the NATO-led exercise Steadfast Defender 2021 to ensure that their forces are "trained, able to operate together and ready to respond to any danger from any direction."

Defender-Europe 21, an annual US army-led exercise, took place between March and June with the participation of over 30,000 personnel from 26 countries "to build readiness and interoperability between the US, NATO and partner militaries."

* Writing by Dilan Pamuk in Ankara