Greece Alters Its Defense Spending Priorities, Plans

Not any time soon…?(click to view full) Greece made an about face on half of its future fighter order, switching from a EUR 4.9 billion contract (about $5.8 billion) for 60 EADS Eurofighters to a roughly $2 billion contract for 30 F-16C/D Block 50/52s as a partial replacement for its old A-7 Corsair and F-4/RF-4 Phantom jets. Even so, defense ministry spokesman Stefanos Gikas has said that their “…next order [in 2009] for fourth-generation jets will be reviewed by another military council meeting. It does not exclude any company from Europe or the U.S.” Possible contenders like Dassault (Rafale), EADS (Eurofighter), Lockheed (F-35 Lightning II), and Saab/BAE (JAS-39 Gripen) were all looking forward to that next phase. Exactly when those jets might arrive is a subject of some debate, because Greece’s plans seem appear to be vacillating. By July 2006, with orders for new F-16s and Leopard tanks in hand, Greece’s Government Council for Foreign Affairs and Defence (KYSEA) approved a EUR 11.39 billion procurement program for 2006-2010… and new fighters aren’t on the list. Or weren’t. Could that be changing, now that Turkey has committed to 100 F-35s? And what about the rest of Greece’s aviation and modernization plans? […]