A few days ago, the US arms giant Lockheed Martin once again received good news. According to US media reports, during the NATO summit, Greek Prime Minister Mitsotakis officially submitted the purchase of 20 Fs to US President Biden -35 fighter application. According to outside public opinion, as a member of NATO and has maintained close defense relations with the United States, the United States will most likely approve Greece's plan to purchase F-35 fighter jets. Mitsotakis expressed the hope that the Greek Air Force will use F-35 fighters before 2028.
At present, the Greek Air Force has more than 150 American-made F-16 fighter jets and more than 40 legal "Mirage-2000" fighter jets. Its combat effectiveness is not weak. Military experts said that if it can successfully obtain F-35 fighter jets, the strength of the Greek Air Force will be greatly improved. Will go further. It is worth noting that the development of the Hellenic Air Force has received strong support from the United States and France. Before purchasing F-35 fighters, the Hellenic Air Force also purchased the French "Rafale" fighter . In addition, the Greek Air Force hopes to invest in the current F-16 fighter jets. , modernize and upgrade.
After Greece applied to purchase F-35 fighter jets, Turkey was a little unable to sit still. Although they are both NATO allies, relations between Greece and Turkey are very tense due to the dispute over oil and gas resources in the Mediterranean. In recent years, the struggle between the two navies and air forces in the Mediterranean and Aegean regions has intensified, and there is a high possibility of military conflicts. In order to gain a certain advantage in military confrontation, both Turkey and Greece are currently expanding their military power and vigorously developing their own air forces.
However, compared with Greece, which is supported by the United States and France, Turkey seems like a child abandoned by NATO, and neither the United States nor France welcomes it. Take the purchase of F-35 fighter jets as an example. The United States has accepted Greece's application, but has refused to export F-35 fighter jets to Turkey. According to US media reports, the Biden administration currently only allows the export of fourth-generation aircraft to the Turkish Air Force and provides modernization and upgrade services for the F-16 fighter jets currently in service with the Turkish Air Force.
However, the Turkish Air Force cannot get F-35 fighter jets, and it cannot be entirely blamed on the United States. Originally, the United States agreed to export F-35 fighter jets to the Turkish Air Force, and even the first batch of delivered products has already rolled off the production line. But later, because Turkish President Erdogan insisted on purchasing S-400 air defense missiles from Russia, relations between the United States and Turkey deteriorated. The United States repeatedly asked Turkey to abandon its plan to equip S-400 air defense missiles, but Erdogan refused. Erdogan said that the United States and even NATO have no right to interfere in any decision of Turkey to purchase weapons and equipment.
In anger, the United States decided to ban the sale of F-35 fighter jets to Türkiye. Analysts said that the Turkish Air Force's path to obtaining F-35 fighter jets has not been completely blocked. It mainly depends on Erdogan's willingness to give up the S-400 anti-aircraft missiles. Some people believe that after Erdogan steps down as president, the United States and Turkey may restart negotiations on the purchase of F-35 fighter jets.
