Greece will be the first country in the region after Israel to acquire the ultra-modern fifth generation fighters
According to information from protothema.gr, it is only a matter of hours before the State Department sends to Kyriakos Mitsotakis the official letter for the sale of F-35s to Greece, a move which will lead to the upgrading of the capabilities of the Air Force and will offer Greece superiority of forces in the air.
According to information, the commitment that the sale of F-35s to Greece will proceed immediately was given at the highest level in the meeting between the Greek Prime Minister Mr. Mitsotakis and A. Blinken in Chania. The package also includes free military aid and the letter is expected to be sent to Congress.
Congress is then expected to approve through the tacit process the sale of the F-35 and then after Greece accepts the LOA negotiations will begin for the conclusion of the contract, which will include the timetables, the level of equipment and the way of financing. Greece will be the first country in the region after Israel to acquire the state-of-the-art fifth generation fighters, which together with the Rafale and upgraded F-16s will create one of the most powerful air forces in the wider region.
According to information, the procedures are being accelerated and on Monday the draft of the LOA (Letter of Offer and Acceptance) will reach the hands of the Minister of Defense Nikos Dendias. After the 14 days from the letter to Congress, which provides for the procedure for the tacit approval of the sale of the F-35, this LOA takes a final and official form.
The sale of the F-35s to Greece was also used by Washington as a lever of pressure to bend T. Erdogan and the warning was given by A. Blinken himself during his visit to Istanbul, who made it clear that if the process is not completed approval of Sweden's accession to NATO immediately, then Washington will proceed to approve the agreement for the sale of F-35s to Greece. A move which would be disastrous for Turkey which would risk being left with only the old F-16s.
After the approval of Sweden's accession to NATO by Turkey, the big thorn remains the attitude of Congress, but the American side believes that by promoting the F-35 package to Greece, the concerns of members of the Senate and of the Parliament for the security of Greece, while it is known that several members of Congress also request written guarantees that the F16s will not be used against allied countries.
A diplomatic source with knowledge of the talks with Washington said yesterday that it was "a matter of time" before the F-35 letter went to Congress and set a concrete framework for defense relations with the US, stressing that: No one can prevent the sale of US defense equipment to third countries, for Greece it is important to ensure that any such equipment will not be used against it and also Greece seeks to maximize its own benefits which of course concern the acquisition of the fifth generation fighter F-35 but also that he acquires other defense material from the Americans.
Source: protothema.gr