rafale greece turkey: First Rafale Fighter Jet Delivered to Greece Hellenic Air Force

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Athens
Greece’s Air Force has received the first Rafale aircraft from France amid tensions with Turkey. Greek Defense Minister Nikolaos Panagiotopoulos and Dassault Aviation President and CEO Eric Trappier were also present at the handover ceremony held at the Dassault Aviation Flight Test Center. These planes will fly from here and reach Greece directly. Six months ago, Greece had signed an agreement with Dassault Aviation for the purchase of 18 Rafale aircraft. Of these, 10 will be F3-R variants of Rafale, while the remaining 8 will be second-hand jets, for which Greece will not have to pay any money.

Rafale to be deployed at Tanagra Air Force Base
The next five Rafale aircraft to be received by Greece will be taken from the French Air Force. These aircraft will be overhauled and will train the pilots and technicians of the Hellenic Air Force of Greece. The Hellenic Air Force is planning to deploy these Rafale aircraft at Tanagra Air Force Base. From here the Turkish F-16 fighter jets can be closely monitored.

Threat from Turkey, France will give 18 Rafale fighter jets to Greece, 8 of them free
Turkey and Greece both have F-16 fighter jets
Turkey, which is dreaming of operating its grandeur in the Mediterranean, is scared of Rafale planes joining the Greece Air Force. At present, both Turkey and Greece have US F-16 fighter jets. But with the arrival of Rafale to Greece, Turkey’s power in the air will be reduced. At the same time, France has openly announced to support Greece.

Now Greece has driven Turkey’s F-16S fighter jet, buying Rafale aircraft from France
What is the dispute between Turkey and Greece
In fact, since last year, Turkish marine oil exploration ship Oruk Reis has been carrying out research activity near the Greek island of Kastelorizo. Greece claims that Turkish ships are operating in its waters. Whereas, Turkey has denied the claim of Greece and claimed that maritime part as its own. Turkey is adamant on pursuing off-shore drilling in the area, while France has made it clear that Turkey will not remain a mute spectator if it starts any such activity in the disputed area. The crux of the dispute is three and a half trillion cubic meters (TCM) of gas in the eastern Mediterranean, of which 2.3 TCM is clearly in the Economic Interest Zones of Egypt, Israel and Cyprus.

Turkey ‘scared’ with Greece’s Rafale, started air defense maneuvers at sea
Turkey has S-400 air defense missile system
Turkey, on the other hand, has the S-400 air defense missile system, which can shoot down enemy aircraft from the sky. The S-400 is considered to be Russia’s most advanced long range surface-to-air missile defense system. It is capable of shooting down enemy cruise, aircraft and ballistic missiles. This system is an upgraded version of Russia’s S-300. The missile system, developed by Almaz-Antey, has been in service in Russia since 2007.

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