Why does Greece have so many fighter jets?

Summary and what you need to know: The Hellenic Air Force is one of the largest in NATO, with 227 combat aircraft, surpassing the fleets of the British and French air forces.

– Currently, Greece uses F-16 Fighting Falcons, Dassault Rafales, Dassault Mirage 2000-5s and F-4E Phantoms.

-By 2030, the fleet will focus on the F-35A Lightning II, F-16 Block 70/72 “Viper” and Rafale F3R aircraft, with the aim of maintaining around 200 combat-ready aircraft.

-Greece’s robust air force is necessary because of the security threat posed by neighboring Turkey, making these advanced capabilities crucial to defending the Eastern Mediterranean region.

F-35, Rafale and Vipers: Greek air power strategy for 2030

Here at the National interestA recent article explains why Greece has more tanks than the British and French armies combined. For a country of 10 million people, a fleet of 850 active main battle tanks is quite a lot.

Did you know that the Hellenic Air Force has one of the largest fighter fleets in NATO, with a total of about 227 fighter jets? This makes the Hellenic Air Force a larger fleet than the Royal Air Force and the French Air Force (individually, not combined).

So what aircraft does the Hellenic Air Force use? What aircraft will it use in the future? And why does it need so many fighter jets?

The Hellenic Air Force

Today, the Hellenic Air Force has about 227 fighter aircraft in its inventory. Specifically, Athens has 152 F-16 Fighting Falcon (Block 72, Block 52+/ADV, Block 50, Block 30), 33 F-4E Phantom, 24 Dassault Mirage 2000-5 Mk2 and 18 Dassault Rafale F3R.

The Hellenic Air Force is currently modernizing its fleet starting with the F-16 Fighting Falcon. Athens is working with Lockheed Martin to upgrade dozens of F-16s to the Block 70/72 “Viper” configuration, the most advanced version of the venerable fighter jet in existence. A total of 84 F-16 fighter jets will be upgraded to the Block 70/72 “Viper” configuration by 2027. In addition, the Hellenic Air Force is also upgrading 38 Block 50 aircraft to the Block 52+/ADV configuration using spare parts from the Block 52+/ADV aircraft upgraded to the “Vipers.”

As for the Dassault Rafale, the Greek Air Force has 18 aircraft. The Rafale, together with the F-16 Block 70/72 “Vipers”, is the most advanced combat aircraft in the Greek fleet.

The Greek Air Force hopes to receive one Rafale F3R per month until January. These are brand new aircraft that will create a squadron of 24 fighter jets. However, Athens plans to buy more Rafales in the future to have two combat-ready squadrons. To achieve this, the Greek Air Force is in talks with its French counterpart and Dassault for the transfer of 24 Dassault Mirage 2000-5 Mk2s and the purchase of 12 additional Rafales. Athens’ fleet of Mirage 2000-5s was poorly maintained during the austerity of the 2008 economic crisis.

Although these aircraft are capable interceptors, their availability is not optimal and the Hellenic Air Force is looking for ways to make the best use of them. The ultimate goal would be to have two Rafale squadrons of 18 aircraft each.

Finally, the F-4E Phantom serves in a surveillance and tactical bombing role, but it will soon be retired from the active fleet when the Hellenic Air Force introduces the next aircraft type.

Looking ahead, Greece recently signed a contract with Lockheed Martin for the delivery of 20 F-35A Lightning II stealth fighter jets; Athens has the option to purchase an additional 20 aircraft in the future.

By 2030, the Hellenic Air Force aims to have around 200 combat-ready fighter jets, divided into three types of aircraft: F-35A Lightning II, F-16 Block 70/72 “Viper” and Dassault Rafale F3R.

As to why the Hellenic Air Force needs so many fighter jets, the answer is simple: Turkey and the threat it poses to Greece and to the broader security of the Eastern Mediterranean.

About the author

Stavros Atlamazoglou is a seasoned defense journalist specializing in special operations and a veteran of the Hellenic Army (national service with the 575th Marine Battalion and Army Headquarters). He holds a bachelor’s degree from Johns Hopkins University and a master’s degree from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). His work has been featured in Business Insider, SandboxxAnd SOFREP.

Image credit: Creative Commons and Shutterstock.