Key facts
- Greece agreed to spend up to $4 billion on US arms, including F-16 upgrades and advanced missiles.
- The deal covers new missiles and bombs for F-16 Vipers, F-35 jets, and Black Hawk helicopters.
- Greece is upgrading 82 F-16s and plans to upgrade 37 more for approximately $1 billion.
- The procurements are included in the government's multi-year defense plan.
- Greece spends nearly 3.5% of its GDP on defense due to its dispute with Turkey.
Greece has agreed to a significant arms deal with the United States, committing up to $4 billion for the modernization of its F-16 fighter jets and the acquisition of advanced missiles. The agreement, confirmed by senior Greek defense and foreign ministry officials to Reuters, includes new missiles and bombs for F-16 Vipers, F-35 fighter jets, and Black Hawk helicopters, as well as the upgrade of existing F-16s to the Viper version.
This procurement is part of Greece's broader strategy to modernize its armed forces, a move spurred by its ongoing dispute with Turkey and its emergence from the 2009-2018 debt crisis. The country already has a substantial defense budget, allocating nearly 3.5% of its GDP to defense, a higher proportion than many other NATO members.
The deal follows a visit to Athens by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who announced a joint security plan for counterterrorism information sharing between the two NATO allies. Greece's defense spending plans include the purchase of 20 Lockheed Martin F-35 fighter jets and 35 Sikorsky UH-60M Black Hawk helicopters in 2024. The upgrade of approximately 82 F-16s to the Viper version is underway, with plans to upgrade an additional 37 Block 50 F-16s at an estimated cost of $1 billion. Officials stated that most of these procurements are already factored into the government's multi-year defense plan, mitigating additional financial pressure.