Greece has become the newest member of the “Global F-35 Lightning Alliance” by finalizing an order for 20 Lockheed Martin F-35A stealth fighter jets on Thursday.
The so-called Letter of Offer and Acceptance (LOA) was signed through the U.S. government’s Foreign Military Sales program and also includes an option for 20 additional aircraft.
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“We are excited to welcome Greece into the F-35 enterprise,” said Air Force Lt. Gen. Mike Schmidt, director and program executive officer, F-35 Joint Program Office. “The F-35 will provide exceptional capability to the Hellenic Air Force, build interoperability between our allies and strengthen the combat effectiveness for all of NATO.”
“For several decades, the Hellenic Air Force has been our partner, and it is our honor to continue that relationship as Greece becomes the 19th nation to join the F-35 program,” said Bridget Lauderdale, Lockheed Martin’s vice president and general manager of the F-35 program. “The F-35 is the only fighter suitable to strengthen Greece’s sovereignty and operational capability with allies.”
Replacement for old F-4E and Mirage 2000 fighters
The Hellenic Air Force’s F-35s will replace the aging F-4E Phantom II and Mirage 2000 fighters currently in service. The country also operates more modern aircraft such as the F-16 and Dassault Rafale.
The Greek government had been authorized by the U.S. State Department to acquire up to 40 F-35As in January and will become the 19th country to fly the 5th-generation fighter.
According to Lockheed Martin, by the 2030s, more than 600 F-35s will be flying in 10 European countries, including two full squadrons of U.S. F-35s stationed at Royal Air Force Lakenheath.
“The F-35’s growing presence across Europe is a powerful testament to alliance-based deterrence and is setting the foundation for NATO and allied nations’ next generation air power capability,” said Mara Motherway, Lockheed Martin vice president of Strategy and Business Development.
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To date, the F-35 operates from 32 bases worldwide, with 10 nations operating F-35s on home soil. There are nearly 1,000 operational aircraft with more than 860,000 flight hours across the fleet.
Despite the success, Lockheed Martin is struggling with a complicated technology upgrade called TR-3 (Technical Refresh 3), which was supposed to be completed a year ago.
Due to the delay, the manufacturer only returned to delivering new fighters last week, even then with a provisional version of the software.
