In a wide-ranging interview, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsosakis said the current fleet of 24 Rafales is ‘sufficient’ for now, reversing earlier plans to acquire up to 12 more newly built Rafales upgraded to the latest F4 standard.
Greece will not buy additional Dassault Rafale fighters and will operate only 24 aircraft as the current numbers are considered sufficient for now, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsosakis revealed in an interview, as reported by Defence Review. He also suggested that a reason could be Athens rather going for an additional 20 F-35 Lightning IIs, apart from the 20 it announced in July 2024 in a $3.5 billion deal.
The development is a near reversal of the plans reported since May 2024 to add 10 to 12 more Rafales of the F4 standard to the fleet of 24 initially ordered. These 24 aircraft, which are all Rafales F3R, include second-hand sales from the Armée de l’Air et de l’Espace (French Air and Space Force) and newly built aircraft. The fleet comprises 18 single seater Rafale EG and six two-seater Rafale DG.
Among these aircraft there is also a batch ordered in Mar. 2022, which is scheduled to be delivered to the HAF (Hellenic Air Force) between Sep. 2024 to Jan. 2025. The plan to buy around a dozen more aircraft was to maintain force levels while retiring its older F-4 Phantom IIs, Mirage 2000-5 Mk.2, and some F-16s. The plans were also driven by the possible sale of the older Mirages to the IAF (Indian Air Force), which was also looking at Qatari Mirages, as per Greek and Indian reports.
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‘No more Rafales needed’
This program now appears to have been cancelled (or at least put on standby), as Mitsotakis revealed in the wide-ranging interview during a visit to Tanagra Air Base near Athens. The base is home to the 332 Squadron (“Hawk”), part of the 114 Combat Wing, where all the HAF’s Rafales are assigned.
Mitsotakis said there is currently no intention to exercise the contract clause with the French to acquire six more Rafales. “We have 24, we believe that these are absolutely sufficient, in combination of course with the decision we have taken to acquire 20 F-35 aircraft in the first phase,” he said.
Mitsotakis, who himself served in the HAF 30 years ago, described the F-35s as “fully stealth, fifth generation aircraft, practically invisible to any radar.” He also added “they are aircraft that work and cooperate very well with the F-16s.”
Athens had agreed to buy at least 20 F-35s, worth $3.5 billion, in Jul. 2024, with an option for 20 more for a total fleet of 40, with deliveries expected to begin by 2028. This makes Greece the 19th country globally to join the F-35 program and the 12th European nation to use the F-35. The mention of the “first phase” implies future plans for the additional 20, to have a fleet of 40 F-35s.
This also comes amid a see-sawing military balance in the eastern Mediterranean as Turkey lobbies to be readmitted into the F-35 program, buy new F-16 Block 70 jets, upgrade its existing F-16 fleet domestically, develop its homegrown fifth generation KAAN fighter and build a diverse fleet of UCAVs and UAVs.
Hellenic Air Force current composition
After the Rafales, the most advanced fighter in the HAF inventory would be the 84 F-16V Vipers (how the upgraded Block 70/72 aircraft are known compared to newly built ones). The service expects to finish receiving the aircraft by 2027, after getting them upgraded from the initial F-16C/D Block 52+ configuration.
A Hellenic AF F-16 in its distinctive “Aegean Ghost” colour scheme cutting through the air during Exercise Ramstein Flag ’24. The HAF received the first of its 83 upgraded F-16Vs at Tanagra AFB in September 2022. #Greece is planning to complete the upgrades by 2027. pic.twitter.com/fLyogv9WXp
— Air Power (@RealAirPower1) September 30, 2024
The twentieth F-16V jet was delivered in July 2024, according to CNN Greece, with 16 others in the pipeline. While Lockheed Martin received the contract for the upgrade, the HAI (Hellenic Aviation Industry) also has a role to play in the program with a large part of the work performed in Greece.
Mitsotakis touched upon the efforts to increase the availability of its older C-130B/H Hercules and C-27 Spartan medium-lift transport aircraft, which had been facing maintainability issues. He also placed the equipment plans in the backdrop of drastic shifts in defence policies, starting with increasing the Greek GDP’s share in defense to 2.5%, increasing NATO member countries’ own share in the alliance defense spending, and the war in Ukraine.
At one point, older Greek F-16s Block 30 and Patriot AD (Air Defense) systems were considered among candidates to be sent to Ukraine. However, Mitsotakis said he “resisted any pressure” on the Patriots because they are “absolutely critical for the defense of our own airspace.”
Greek Rafales employement
This strategic shift towards NATO also followed the participation of the HAF in the recent major international exercises. The biggest drill was Ramstein Flag, with Greek Rafales, F-16s, Mirage 2000-5s and F-4E Phantom IIs. Other participants were Canada, France, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sweden, U.K. and U.S., which brought aircraft comprising the CC-150, Rafales, E-3 AWACS (Airborne Warning and Control System), Gripen, F-35s, Eurofighter Typhoons and KC-135 Stratotankers.
#NATO exercise Ramstein Flag took off for a combined mission flying across Greece 🇬🇷 to demonstrate multinational Air Power capability
During the flight, 12 fighter jets from the Nations 🇬🇷🇫🇷🇭🇺🇮🇹🇵🇱🇵🇹🇪🇸🇸🇪🇺🇸 flew in formation #StrongTogether
Read more: https://t.co/sFihIDD5Zr pic.twitter.com/v67m0SvA5C
— NATO Air Command (@NATO_AIRCOM) October 4, 2024
But at the same time, while wrapping up its participation in Ramstein Flag, Greece also declined a request from Baltic nations Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia to participate in NATO’s BAP (Baltic Air Policing) mission. Greek officials cited the HAF’s current obligations in the Balkans as the reason.
In a Top Gun training programme, Allies 🇪🇸🇮🇹🇫🇷🇩🇪🇬🇷🇬🇧 enhance operational skills in red team vs blue team dogfighting
With this high intensity live flying training, #NATO enhances 4th & 5th gen capability integration & showcases readiness to address dynamic security challenges pic.twitter.com/m5CmrRWo3z
— NATO Air Command (@NATO_AIRCOM) November 27, 2024
Until the middle of September, the HAF was also participating in the Indian Air Force’s multinational Tarang Shakti drills, which saw its F-16s touch down on Indian soil for the first time on Aug. 29, 2024. F-16s from the 336 Squadron, supported by C-130s carrying equipment and other personnel had landed in southern India’s AFS Sulur (Air Force Station Sulur) in Tamil Nadu.
