Greece Signs Deal to Buy 20 F-35 Fighter Jets From US

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Facts

  • Greece has formally sanctioned a deal — approved by the US State Department in January — to purchase 20 F-35 Joint Strike Fighters from the US at some $3.5B. Delivery is expected to begin in 2028.[1]
  • Four of the 20 F-35s will remain in the US for training purposes until 2030, while the deliveries will be completed by 2033. The country has the option of purchasing 20 additional F-35s, and reportedly plans on doing so after 2030.[2]
  • Greek Defense Minister Nikos Dendias said the Lockheed Martin-made fighters will be 'a powerful deterrent presence in our region.' As part of its post-financial crisis military modernization initiative, Athens began receiving deliveries of French-made Rafale jets in 2021.[3]
  • US Air Force Lieutenant General Mike Schmidt said the sale will further integrate Greece into NATO and improve 'combat effectiveness.' Lockheed Martin estimates that over 600 F-35s will be deployed in Europe across 10 countries by the 2030s.[4][5]
  • This comes amid heightened tensions with Turkey over a sea boundary dispute. The US denied Turkey the F-35s five years ago due to their purchase of Russian-made S-400 surface-to-air missiles, which Washington claimed posed a risk to NATO.[3]
  • Greece will be the 19th country to join the F-35 program, which includes Israel, Australia, Germany, and the UK. Nearly 1K F-35s are operational worldwide and have amassed over 860K hours of flight time.[3][6]

Sources: [1]ABC News, [2]eKathimerini.com, [3]Associated Press, [4]Airforce Technology, [5]Prnewswire and [6]The Aviationist.

Narratives

  • Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by Prnewswire. The F-35 has been the preeminent aircraft for all NATO countries and other major allies of the US, and its proliferation is a testament to America's engineering prowess and diplomatic efforts. The F-35 is the most technologically advanced and combat-ready jet the world has to offer, and serves as an effective deterrent against the enemies of the free world. In a way, everyone in a NATO country is safer thanks to Greece's purchase.
  • Establishment-critical narrative, as provided by Defense News. The US war machine continues to chug along in spite of the F-35's serious technical deficiencies. The F-35 has several flaws that can hamper mission performance and even cause serious pain to pilots. Worse, these have been kept hidden from scrutiny as Lockheed Martin continues collecting billion-dollar checks for shoddy workmanship. Claims of the F-35's prowess are greatly exaggerated.

Predictions