Greece: What will change with the arrival of Rafale

It's finally done! The Greek authorities officially signed the order of 18 combat aircraft Rafale to F3R standard, as well as a large batch of ammunition and parts, all for an amount of € 2,5 billion. The signing of this contract was long awaited, and enshrines the partnership between Paris and Athens around Defense issues, a partnership which has shown its solidity. during the crisis between Greece and Turkey on issues of hydrocarbon exploitation in the Aegean Sea last fall. But beyond this bilateral defense relationship, the arrival of Rafale within the Hellenic Air Forces, which will extend between 2021 and 2022 in particular due to the postponement of deliveries of Rafale intended for the Air and Space Force in the middle of next year to respond to the Greek emergency, will significantly change the balance of power in the Eastern Mediterranean, in particular vis-à-vis Turkey, a country with which Athens maintains strained relations.

Today, the Hellenic armed forces are constantly evolving under the threat of an adversary with a more than significant numerical advantage, with 3 times as many soldiers, twice as many armored vehicles, and one and a half times as many ships and fighter jets. Such a balance of power is very unfavorable for Athens, especially since Turkey has a much larger demographic pool, and the area to be defended for Athens is particularly vast, stretching from Cyprus to Eastern Thrace, and incorporates a large number of populated islands in the Aegean Sea. In these conditions, the Hellenic General Staff must count, in addition to the training and determination of its soldiers, a solid political and popular support, and a technological advantage capable of compensating for its numerical weakness.

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