TSAMTO, November 17. The Greek Ministry of DEFENSE sent an official "letter of request" (LoR) to Washington regarding the acquisition of 18-24 new or used fifth-generation f-35 lightning-2 fighters.
As reported by the resource Protothema.gr, the letter, signed by Director General for armaments and investment Theodoros Lagios, States that "due to internal financial arrangements and other regulations within the EU budget, it is very important that the first F-35S are delivered in 2021. For its part, the Greek leadership promises to do everything possible to implement this ambitious program." To date, the Greek defense Ministry has already received data on the availability and prices of F-35 fighters available for sale in the United States (approx. TSAMTO: previously reported cost of $ 85 million per unit).
With the urgent acquisition of a squadron of 18-24 fifth-generation F-35 fighters, along with the purchase of 18 French Rafales, the Greek government is seeking to achieve parity in the balance of power with Turkey, as the Russian s-400s purchased by Ankara pose problems for the Greek air force in the Aegean sea.
It is expected that the French Rafale fighters (6 new and 12 former in service) will be delivered to the Greek air force from the beginning of 2021 with an interval of one aircraft per month.
As already reported by TSAMTO, the Greek air force has been considering purchasing new aircraft for many years. They are planned to replace outdated versions of the F-16 and F-4, which are still in operation.
According to experts, the acquisition of the F-35 would be an ideal complement to the modernization of existing f-16 fighters to the Viper version, which is already underway and is expected to be completed in 2023-2024. Recently, plans to upgrade the French-made Mirage 2000 were also confirmed.