According to the country’s prime minister, Greece has issued a formal request to the United States to buy 20 F-35 fighter jets built by Lockheed Martin. Greece spends more than 2% of its gross domestic product on defence. As a result, Greece has formally requested that the United States sell it .20 F-35 fighter jets built by Lockheed Martin. As tensions with its neighbour, historic rival and NATO ally Turkey, have reemerged in recent years, it has increased its military expenditure.

Greece Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, a second order for the jets is being considered that “The purchase of an F-35 squadron with a second squadron potentially available is what we intend to do. As a part of this procedure, a Letter of Request (LoR) has been sent recently “After a NATO conference, Mitsotakis spoke the media. The first step in a multi-stage procedure is to submit a request, according to Mitsotakis, who also stated that the government planned the delivery of the jets to start in 2027–2028.

Greece and Turkey have been at conflict for decades over a number of issues, including overflights in the Aegean, the size of their continental shelf and maritime boundaries, energy resources, and the ethnically divided island of Cyprus. During a trip to the United States in May, Mitsotakis first referred to the purchase of F-35 aircraft. Last year, Athens placed orders for three French military frigates with an option for a fourth one, as well as 24 Dassault-built Rafale planes, totaling 2.5 billion euros ($2.60 billion).

State television station ERT reports that the military ministry reportedly intends to upgrade 38 F-16 fighter aircraft.

A day after Turkey dropped its objection to Finland and Sweden joining NATO, the United States endorsed the potential supply of F-16 fighter jets to Turkey on Wednesday, arguing that Turkey’s robust defence capabilities would reinforce NATO’s defences.