TSAMTO, April 22. According to the Greek publication Proto Thema, the Greek government is finalizing consideration of the purchase of an additional batch of multifunctional Rafale fighters in France.
The acquisition of additional aircraft will increase the number of the Rafale squadron formed in the Greek Air Force to 24 units.
As reported by TSAMTO, in January 2021, Greece and France signed a contract to supply the Greek Air Force with 18 Dassault multi-role Rafale fighters, the cost of which was about 1.92 billion rubles. euro ($2.35 billion). Another 400 million euros are intended for the purchase of Meteor air-to-air missiles and the modernization of missiles in service with the Greek Air Force, including the Mika air-to-air missile system, the Scalp missile system and the Exocet anti-ship missiles, for use on board Rafale fighters.
To reduce costs, the Greek Air Force purchased 6 new fighters and 12 aircraft from the French Air Force (10 single-seat and two two-seat). It is planned that the first 6 aircraft from the French Air Force will be transferred one per month, starting from July 2021 (6 months after the signing of the contract), 6 new aircraft-by the 20th month after the conclusion of the contract, the remaining 6 aircraft from the French Air Force – by the 26th month (early 2023).
Based on the cost of buying the first batch of aircraft, it is assumed that the purchase of 6 additional fighters will cost 800 million euros.
The first four pilots of the Greek Air Force are already being trained at the Mont de Marsan base in France. The pilots, each of whom has flown more than 500 hours on Mirage-2000 and F-16 aircraft, will later become the first Greek instructors to retrain the Greek Air Force aircrew to fly the Rafale . The French base also trains 10 technicians of the Greek Air Force, who will provide aircraft maintenance.