Greece begins talks for purchasing 10 Rafale jets from France
Greece to in the process of placing an order for a new shipment of Rafale fighter jets
Greece, which is carrying out a normalization process with Türkiye, continues to arm itself as reports have emerged that Athens is placing an order for a new shipment of Rafale fighter jets.
Greece is trying to modernize its air defense with French aircraft.
Reports indicate that Greek authorities and French aircraft manufacturer Dassault Aviation have made substantial progress in negotiations regarding a new aircraft package.
Discussions center on acquiring 10 fighter jets constructed to the forthcoming F4 standard.
Dassault executives will travel to Athens in the coming weeks for additional negotiations. Negotiations are progressing to provide the Hellenic Air Force with eight to 10 Rafale aircraft.
The Greek Ministry of Defense has conveyed its intention to replace Mirage 2000-5 aircraft and emphasized the importance of these discussions in that regard.
Modernizing the Hellenic Air Force’s Fighter Fleet
In January 2021, Greece placed an order with the French government for 18 Rafale jets. This included six brand-new jets built to the F3R standard and 12 pre-owned aircraft from the French Air Force.
The order also included numerous weapon systems, such as Exocet anti-ship missiles and SCALP cruise missiles.
In 2022, the Hellenic Air Force decommissioned its Mirage 2000 EGM/BGM fleet and retained 24 Mirage 2000-5 air superiority fighters, currently operated by the 331 Squadron ‘Theseus.’
Due to cost and effectiveness concerns, The Hellenic Air Force shelved modernization plans for these fighters, which included the addition of Link-16 terminals for improved communication with other aircraft.
Greece has intended to procure a maximum of 40 Rafale jets and 40 Lockheed Martin F-35A fifth-generation fighters by 2025.
Rafale, produced by French aircraft manufacturer Dassault Aviation, has been sold to many regional countries in the last month.
While Egypt plans to develop its fighter jet fleet by purchasing an additional 30 Rafale F4s, six Rafale jets were delivered to Croatia in April.
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Source: Newsroom
