Greece sells F-16s and Mirage 2000s, but no one wants to send them to Ukraine
Greek Defense Minister Nikos Dendias has announced a major evolution in the Hellenic Air Force, which essentially involves the decommissioning and sale of the F-16 and Mirage 2000 fighter jets, Greek publication Ekathimireni reported on March 25 .
Dendias highlighted the need to streamline the Air Force, stressing that the variety of aircraft types in the current fleet is a burden. The key driver behind the decision to downsize the fighter jet fleet was the exorbitant cost of maintenance.
“We have a load of different types of aircraft. We have F-4, Mirage 2000-5, Block 30 F-16, Block 50 F-16, Block 52 F-16, Viper F-16 and Rafales. We can't continue like this. The F-4s must be retired and, if possible, sold. The Mirage 2000-5 is an exceptionally capable aircraft and can be sold. F-16 Block 30s must be sold. And I believe we will be able to sell [Mirage 2000-5s and F-16 Block 30s],” Dendias said.
F 16
He then added: “As for the remaining aircraft, we need to bring the F-16s to the Viper level, strengthen our fleet of Rafales – we have 24, but it would be good to reach 30 – and, of course, acquire the Block 4 F- 35, which has not yet entered service, but will have cured all childhood illnesses of fourth generation aircraft."
According to the Minister, modernization and the acquisition of new equipment will increase the uniformity and interoperability of the Air Force, making it a top priority. It would make sense for the country to use the money spent maintaining these less capable, near-vintage jets to acquire new jets and upgrade others in the fleet.
In June 2022, Greece formally asked the United States for permission to purchase 20 F-35 fighter jets produced by Lockheed Martin. The approval of this request marks a crucial turning point in a convoluted, multi-step process. If things go well, Athens expects to start receiving the jets in 2027-2028.
Greece signed a deal with French aerospace giant Dassault Aviation to purchase 18 Rafales in January 2021. However, another deal for six more aircraft was signed in March 2022, bringing the total number to 24. With the country which now aims for at least 30 jets, another deal for 6 more aircraft could be negotiated.
These two aircraft, with some F 16V, Block 70, should be the basis of the Greek air fleet for the foreseeable future, perfectly capable of dealing with the challenges of NATO and the provocations of Turkey.
Mirage 2000
No Greek fighter jets for Ukraine
Greece announced last year that it would train Ukrainian fighter pilots to fly the F-16, but unlike Denmark and the Netherlands and perhaps Norway and Belgium, it has not committed to transferring its hunting.
Greece's aircraft will not benefit from the same commonality with other European F-16 operators engaged in the Ukraine campaign, because it is not a member of the Participating European Air Forces (EPAF), but the jets would still be advantageous to Kyiv. These are fighters more or less similar to those already scheduled for transfer.
While the transfer of Mirage-2000s may still require French approval, the United States has already allowed the transfer of F-16s to Ukraine. However, both of these aircraft still have a large capacity and could easily be added to other countries' fleets. Furthermore, it would be strange if Macron, after having stated that he was ready to send soldiers to Ukraine and having sold numerous Cesar howitzers to Kiev, refused to authorize the export of Mirage 2000s.
The Phantom F-4s, stuff from the sixties, will hardly be exported, even if they would still be useful as a launch platform, but now you can't even find spare parts, but what about the other fighters?
For now, not only has Greece not made any decision to send fighters, but not even any other ally, France in the lead, but not even Germany, for example, or any other pro-American and pro-Ukrainian country, has come forward to acquire these means in view of being sent to the war theater. It is not impossible that some developing country will come forward to buy them for itself, but, at least for now, no one has offered to help Ukraine.
Is the reason lack of money or fear of irritating Moscow excessively?
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The article Greece sells F-16s and Mirage 2000s, but no one wants to send them to Ukraine comes from Economic Scenarios .
This is a machine translation of a post published on Scenari Economici at the URL https://scenarieconomici.it/la-grecia-vende-f-16-e-mirage-2000-ma-nessuno-i-vuole-mandare-in-ucraina/ on Fri, 29 Mar 2024 09:00:31 +0000.