Summary
- Greece to divest of aging aircraft, acquire newer jets, such as F-35s, for $8.6B deal from the United States.
- Greece became one of only three countries flying iconic F-4 Phantom fighter jets after South Korea retires aging fleet.
- Greece looks to purchase more French Rafales to increase total fleet to 40, thereby increasing its capabilities.
Greece maintains a large and impressive air force for a country of around 10 million people (partly because of its rivalry with Turkey). Greece recently announced it will be retiring and selling off its older aircraft (including F-4 Phantom IIs, F-16 Block 30s, and French-made Mirage 2000-5s), thereby reducing its “cartload of different types of aircraft.” This will enable the Greek (Hellenic) Air Force to acquire newer, more capable aircraft.
Greece to divest of aging aircraft
The Greek newspaper Ekathimerini reported that the Greek prime minister described the move as the “biggest reform program in the history of the modern Greek state.” The Greek Defense Minister stated it was part of a program to “prepare the Armed Forces for the 21st century.” He stated, “Everything needs to change in order to maintain exactly the same goal: the ability to protect our sovereignty and independence.”
Photo: Flight Video and Photo | Shutterstock.com
“We have a cartload of different types of aircraft. We have F-4s, Mirage 2000-5s, Block 30 F-16s, Block 50 F-16s, Block 52 F-16s, Viper F-16s and Rafales. We cannot carry on this way. The F-4s need to be retired and, if possible, sold. The Mirage 2000-5 is an exceptionally capable plane and can be sold. The Block 30 F-16s need to be sold.” Greek Defense Minister Nikos Dendias
The Block 4 F-35 is a new upgraded variant of the F-35A family and has not flown yet. The Greek Defense Minister stated that the aircraft would enable the Hellenic Air Force to “cure all the childhood illness of the fourth-generation aircraft.”
The obsolete Phantoms will likely be retired, while the more capable Mirage 2000-5s and Block 30 F-16s will likely be sold off. Greece also operates more modern F-16 Block 50/52 Fighting Falcons, and these are expected to be upgraded (the Greeks are open to having an “adequate fleet” of upgraded F-16s by 2027).
Photo: Mike Mareen | Shutterstock
Data from WDMMA suggests the Greek Air Force has 114 F-16s, 33 F-4 Phantoms, 24 Mirage 2000-5s, and 16 Mirage 2000EGs. The F-16 number might not include those used in conversion training.
With South Korea finally retiring its aging fleet of F-4 Phantoms, Greece is now one of only three countries in the world still flying the iconic Phantom fighter jet. After it divests the F-4 Phantoms, only Turkey and Iran will be left flying the jets. It is unclear what the timeline for the Greek fighter jet divestments will be.
The retirement of Greece’s older fighter jets has stirred debate about whether some will be sent to Ukraine—although some may be sold to India (F-16 Block 15/20s and Mirage 2000-5s from other countries have already been pledged to Ukraine).
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Greece to purchase F-35 stealth jets
The US State Department has approved the Greek request to purchase 40 F-35 Block 4 5th-generation fighter jets from the United States. Airforce Technology says the deal (together with relevant equipment) is worth $8.6 billion. This is perhaps the greatest upgrade to the Hellenic Air Force in many years.
Photo: USAF
According to Army Recognition, the deal is for 20 F-35A Lightning IIs with the option for an additional 20. The deal will also include 42 Pratt & Whitney F135-PW-100 engines (40 installed and two spares), electronic warfare systems and reprogramming laboratory support, and various other support and systems for the jets.
Greece will join the growing list of countries operating the world’s most popular fifth-generation fighter jet, the F-35. The F-35 faces almost no competition in the export market for fifth-generation fighter jets. No country seems interested in purchasing Russia’s Su-57, China’s J-20 is export-restricted, and the F-22 is export-restricted and out of production. The F-35As are expected to start arriving in Greece in 2028.
At the same time, the US approved the sales of F-16s to Greece, and the US also approved the sale of 40 additional F-16s to Turkey (along with modernization kits for older Turkish F-16s). Greek Phantoms were acquired in the 1970s. The United States kicked Greek-rival Turkey out of the F-35 program a few years ago after it acquired Russian-made S-400 air defense systems.
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Greece purchases more French Rafales
Greece is interested in acquiring at least 10 more French-made Rafales, increasing the number to 34. These would reportedly be updated versions of the aircraft, and the negotiations are reportedly already in an advanced stage. According to some reports, Greece wants to have a total fleet of 40 Rafales.
Photo: Arjan van de Logt l Shutterstock
Greece has so far purchased 24 French-made Dassault Rafale fighter jets. These twin-engine, canard delta-wing, multirole aircraft “cover the full range of operational missions.” Dassault markets them as the only omnirore fighter jets in the world (meaning they can cover multiple roles simultaneously).
Twelve of the Greek Rafale fighter jets were built new for the Greek Air Force, and the other 12 were ex-French Air Force Rafales. Eighteen of them are single-seater Rafale EG, and six are two-seater Rafale DG. The Rafales are considered to be 4.5th-generation fighter jets and one of the best in their class. They can carry a wide range of advanced missiles, including long-range Meteor air-to-air missiles and SCALP EG cruise missiles.
Partly because Russia’s fighter jet export market collapsed in recent years, France has seen its sales of Rafale jets rise. Dassault is now struggling to ramp up production to meet the demand in a timely manner. Other countries operating or ordering French Rafales include India, Croatia, Qatar, Egypt, Indonesia, the UAE, and possibly Serbia.