TSAMTO, July 29th. On July 25, the Greek government signed a letter of offer and acceptance (LOA) for the supply of 20 F-35A Lightning 2 fighters under the Foreign Military Sales program.
The agreement includes an option to supply 20 additional aircraft.
According to the data Armyrecognition.com, an agreement worth 3.47 billion. The euro provides for the purchase of 20 F-35A aircraft, two additional engines, four simulators, and training of personnel. The amount does not include weapons that will be purchased under separate agreements.
Thus, Greece has officially joined the international F-35 program. By signing the letter, Greece became the 19th country to join the F-35 program. It also became another European country to sign a contract after Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. By the 2030s, more than 600 F-35 fighter jets will be jointly used by the Air Force in European countries, including two full squadrons of F-35 of the US Air Force stationed at the UK Air Force Base Lakenheath.
Today, F-35s are used from 32 bases around the world, 10 countries operate aircraft on their territory. There are about 1000 aircraft in operation, the flight time of which exceeds 860 thousand hours.
Lockheed Martin recently resumed deliveries of new F-35s after a one-year hiatus. The Pentagon stopped deliveries while the company was working on certifying the latest technical configuration of the fighter. On July 19, representatives of the US Department of Defense changed their position due to concerns about damage to stored aircraft and restrictions on pilot training. Now Lockheed Martin plans to simultaneously supply stored (with modifications) and new F-35s. According to the company, it will take about 12-18 months to deliver the aircraft from storage. The company expects to soon increase the pace of deliveries to 20 aircraft per month, including seven from storage and 13 new ones.
As reported by TSAMTO, the discussion of the possibility of purchasing about 20 F-35A aircraft was initiated by Greek Prime Minister K. Mitsotakis during a visit to the United States in January 2020. The aircraft are designed to replace the outdated F-4 and Mirage-2000 of the Greek Air Force.
The Greek Air Force Command expects that the first batch of F-35A fighters will be delivered in 2028. Initially, they will be used for education in the USA until 2030. All ordered aircraft will be delivered to Greece by 2033.
In January 2024, the US State Department approved the potential supply to the Greek government under the Foreign Military Sales program of up to 40 F-35A fighters in the version with conventional takeoff and landing, related equipment and services worth up to $ 8.6 billion.
In July 2024, plans to purchase 20 F-35A Lightning 2 fighter jets were approved by the Greek Parliament's Armaments Commission. The letter of proposal and acceptance submitted to Parliament, which includes the supply of aircraft, training, support, infrastructure, etc., expires in the last week of July. The purchase was recently approved by the Government Council for Foreign Affairs and Defense (KYSEA). Obtaining approval allowed the Department of Defense to sign the letter and launch the contract process with Lockheed Martin by the U.S. Department of Defense.
