Shortly before the end of 2021 and as everything looks, the discussion about the acquisition of F-35s by Greece has been set alight for good. Following the budget of the US Pentagon, which includes the United States defense agreement with Greece, the sale of F-35 fighters in Greece has become even more likely.
And despite what has been said and written about the 5th generation fighter and how it will come to Greece, one thing is for sure, that the F-35 fighter is for every country that acquires it, is a game changer in defense and the rules of air combat.
A team from the US government, and specifically of Joint Strike Fighter Program Office, according to sources, is expected to arrive in Greece at the beginning of next year, having in its suitcases data and proposals for the F-35 and its acquisition by Greece’s Air Force.
And because one can reasonably ask but didn’t Greece just now buy the Rafale? The answer is that we are not talking about a simple proposal that will be implemented in the near future. We are talking about a comprehensive defense cooperation that needs to start with a Letter of Request from the Greek side, the official expression of interest, while the shortest that will take place is within five years.
However, does a small country like Greece need a 5th generation fighter, one would ask?
Dennis Plessas, Vice President of Global Pursuits Initiatives of Lockheed Martin Aeronautics, gives the answer and many more details about the advantages of acquiring F-35s from Greece to Business Daily: "F-35 is a game changer, changing the rules of the game , as it has the characteristics of a stealth that makes its position indistinguishable from the opponent's radar. It has a great survival rate, as with stealth technologies it can absorb radar radiation and become relatively invisible." He adds that the F-35 is probably necessary for a country like Greece, where the challenges it faces are a daily occurrence.
As for the profit that Greece could have, apart from the air superiority in the Aegean, as Plessas told us, could be at a multiple level. As Lockheed Martin does not just provide aircraft, but the countries participating in the F-35 program are offered technological benefits and infrastructure to their defense industry, which are linked to the local market.
It should be noted that Greece was one of the privileged countries that had been invited three times to participate in the F-35 program as a partner, during the term of three different Ministers of National Defense (Tsochatzopoulos, Papantoniou, Meimarakis). However, all three ministers did not even answer! The result was that Greece did not enter the program as a partner, which would have meant further development of the relevant defense industry and privileges that only the nine partner countries have. The partner countries are: USA, England, Italy, Netherlands, Canada, Australia, Turkey (dismissed due to S-400), Denmark, Norway.
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