(Observer Network News) Reuters news, local time on June 30, Greek Prime Minister Mitsotakis said that Greece has issued a written document to the United States, formally requesting the purchase of 20 F-35 fighter jets. Just a day earlier, U.S. President Joe Biden had publicly expressed support for selling and upgrading F-16 fighter jets to Turkey.
Screenshot of the Reuters report
After the NATO summit on June 30, Mitsotakis told reporters, "Our intention is to buy an F-35 squadron, and possibly a second squadron, and the request issued a few days ago is part of the process." ”
Mitsotakis said the purchase process will consist of multiple stages, and making a request is the first step, with deliveries expected to begin in 2027-2028, "It's a long process, and I say so because it means our financial space allows." ”
F-35 (infographic) Source: AFP
According to the Greek radio station ERT, the Greek Ministry of Defense also hopes to upgrade the existing 38 F-16 fighter jets.
Mitsotakis first mentioned buying F-35 fighter jets during his visit to the United States in May, when he also opposed the sale or upgrade of F-16 fighter jets to Turkey on several occasions.
And just a day before Mitsotakis' statement, on June 29, when Turkey was no longer blocking Finland and Sweden from joining NATO, U.S. President Joe Biden expressed support for selling F-16 fighter jets to Turkey and upgrading old ones, saying that strengthening Turkey's defense capabilities would help strengthen NATO, "As I said last December, we should do this, it is not in our interest to do so, there is no quid pro quo." ”
Recently, Turkey and Greece have been fighting over the Aegean island dispute, and the armaments of both sides have been escalating.
In February, the Greek parliament approved one of the largest naval modernization programs in 20 years, agreeing to order three Belhara-class frigates from France for 2.26 billion euros, with plans to buy a fourth Belhara and four corvettes in a year.
Belhara-class frigate (infographic) Source: navy group
The Defense Post reported that the Belhara-class frigates are equipped with Aster-30 surface-to-air missiles with a range of more than 120 kilometers, which are three times the range of existing anti-aircraft missiles in the arsenals of Greece and Turkey, and with higher accuracy; It will also carry the latest version of the Flying Fish, a cruise anti-ship missile with a range of 200 kilometers with powerful anti-submarine capabilities.
In March, Greece and France's Dassault signed an agreement to buy six more Rafale fighter jets, plus 18 last year, and Greece has purchased 24 Rafales for a total price of about 2.5 billion euros.
In June, Greece decided to spend 190 million euros to expand the Crete military base, renaming it "Crete Naval Base" with the aim of expanding it into "half of the Port of the Greek Navy".
The Turkish side is no exception, Emmanuel Karagiannis, an associate professor of international security at King's College London, told Al Jazeera, "Ankara has launched an ambitious plan to build a blue-water navy to project power far from home." ”
Last year, Turkey launched the first Istanbul-class frigate designed and built.
In March, Turkey's multi-purpose amphibious assault ship Anadolu, built with Spanish technical support, was revealed to have begun sea trials and is expected to be operational by the end of the year.
"Anadolu" (data map) Source: Xinhua News Agency
In June, the Turkish company STM launched the STM500 submarine pressure hull test.
Greece and Turkey have long been divided on a range of issues, including the Aegean island dispute and the Cyprus issue.
Greek Prime Minister Mitsotakis also called Turkey "increasingly rampant" at the end of May, vowing to defend Greek sovereignty. On June 2, Mitsotakis landed on the disputed island.
On June 8, Turkey held the largest military exercise in the Aegean region. During the exercise, Erdogan said Greece should "de-militarize" the disputed islands and ask Greece "not to dream like it did a century ago." ”
This article is an exclusive manuscript of the Observer Network and may not be reproduced without authorization.