In light of the Turkish-Greek tensions ... French Minister of Armies signs a deal in Greece for Rafale fighters

On Monday, Minister of the French armies, Florence Parly, will travel to Athens to sign a contract to sell 18 Rafale combat aircraft to Greece, which faces increasing tension with neighboring Turkey, according to Agence France-Presse.

The Greek Ministry of Defense said in a statement that Florence Parly will meet her Greek counterpart, Nikos Panayotopoulos, and "after that, an agreement to purchase Rafale combat aircraft will be signed."

The contract, worth 2.5 billion euros, includes 12 used aircraft and six new aircraft with their weapons. Negotiations on the contract took a record period between the two governments and approved by the Greek parliament in mid-January.

Six new Rafale aircraft were purchased from the manufacturer, Dassault Aviation, with deliveries expected to commence in 2022.

However, Athens, which wanted to obtain without delay, aircraft that would guarantee its air superiority in the Aegean Sea, bought 12 used aircraft from Paris, and it will receive them from the stock of the French air force. Deliveries are due to start in the summer.

To obtain replacements for these aircraft, France is supposed to sign a contract with Dassault Aviation to purchase 12 new aircraft, according to the French Ministry of the Armed Forces.

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis made the decision to negotiate the purchase of the Rafale in September, in the face of differences with Turkey over the exploitation of energy resources in the southeastern Mediterranean.

France supports Greece in this area and participated in joint military exercises in the Mediterranean during the summer.

Greece also announced its intention to strengthen its military capabilities in 2021 despite the economy contracting by more than ten percent in 2020 as a result of the Corona pandemic, as the country continues to recover from a decade-long debt crisis.

Athens plans to allocate 5.5 billion euros for defense this year, five times more than spending on military equipment.

In addition to purchasing the Rafale fighters, Athens plans to purchase frigates, helicopters and drones, upgrade its fleet of F-16s, and recruit an additional 15,000 soldiers. Greece also announced the extension of the military service period to 12 months, from the current nine.

T/S

ANHA