Greek Defense Minister Nikos Dendias announced that Greece has put several aircraft types up for sale, such as the Mirage 2000-5, F-4 Phantom II and F-16 Block 30, while the F-16 Block 50 will be upgraded to the Viper. He also said that six more Rafale aircraft will be purchased.
Speaking on Maria Anastasopoulou's Arena show, the defense minister also mentioned slight delays in F-16 modernization, saying: “I want to be honest with you. We have some slight delays, over time we will catch up with them. We need to create a combat-ready fleet of F-16 Vipers by 2027 at the most. But we need to do much deeper things: first, homogenize our aircraft types, we have a “bunch” of aircraft types, we have the F-4, we have the Mirage 2000-5, we have the F-16 Block 30, we have the F-16 Block 50, we have the F-16 Block 52, we have the F-16 Viper, we have the Rafale. It doesn't work like that.”
Asked whether certain types of fighter jets should be retired, he said: “The F-4 should be retired and if it can be sold, it should be sold. The Mirage 2000-5 is an extremely capable aircraft, it should be sold. The F-16 Block 30 should also be sold. As for the rest of the aircraft, we need to bring the F-16 to the level of the Viper, we need to strengthen the Rafale fleet, we have 24 of them, it would be nice to get them to 30, and of course we need to get the F-35, but which F- 35? Fourth generation F-35.”
Speaking about the possible timing of the sale, he noted: “Towhen – depends on the search for a buyer. But there are F-16s, the old F-16 Block 30s, which are very good aircraft, the Mirage 2000-5 are also very good aircraft, and as long as they retain significant value, they should be sold. “I'm not saying we'll get the money these planes cost, they've depreciated, but they remain capable planes and I think there's potential to sell them.”
He further said: “We'll also be looking for F-4s, but that's difficult. F-4s, I think we've maintained them very well, they're Vietnam-era aircraft from that period, they might be a little more difficult.” But it is important to unify the types, just as we do the same with our helicopters. We have purchased the basic type of Black Hawk helicopter for the Navy and the Army, and because the Apache – I apologize for using different type names – has the same engine, we will have a critical mass that will allow us to maintain them economically and easily. Because maintaining all these systems is very, very expensive. If you have not just a few types, but too many, then the costs for Greek taxpayers and the Ministry of Defense become unaffordable.”
Regarding the F-35, he said: “We are interested in a fourth version, the one that has not yet flown and that cures all childhood diseases. The F-35 is not just a fighter, it is a platform, and we need that platform. Of course we won't get it tomorrow morning, we need to wait for it to be developed. But Greece needs it.”
He also said about Greek-Turkish relations: “Obviously they are asking that Greece not expand its airspace to 12 nautical miles, as it can do at sea, that is what is behind all this theoretically eloquent rhetoric, that is what is behind it. Unfortunately there is a contradiction here, and you rightly noticed it. In terms of behavior on the ground, Turkey is really doing nothing or very little at the moment that constitutes a violation of our sovereignty or our sovereign rights.
However, in the rhetoric and, above all, in the way it analyzes its rights, even if it is not so easy to notice, there is a tightening, there is no retreat. And when I say retreat, I do not mean in a negative sense the acceptance of international law or international law of the sea. On the contrary, more advanced revisionist positions are being formulated, which, as experience has shown, ultimately become the mainstream, the main opinion in Turkey.
You remember the first time I saw the “blue homeland” as a claim. I called my friend, a Turkish diplomat abroad, and he said: “Come on, don’t listen to this, this is not serious, some extremists are saying this.” After some time, the “blue homeland” turned out to be the frame in front of which President Erdogan stood. Now we hear what you said – “heavenly homeland.” Maybe tomorrow morning we will hear “space homeland”, this topic is constantly expanding.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=savLtW-HXDQ
Experts note that the Phantoms (F-4 Phantom II) were withdrawn from service in Israel with great reluctance. This aircraft has phenomenal bombing capacity. Takes more bombs than its own weight. Conceived as a fighter, it quickly turned into a striker due to the excess power of the engines. In fact, this is an ordinary front-line bomber with an emphasis on the use of missile weapons, without taking into account the possibility of conducting close-in maneuverable combat, which was an extremely large drawback in the experience of combat use when meeting with the MiG-21 in the skies over Vietnam. With a high probability, these aircraft will be transferred to the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
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