Greece plans to sell old F-16 fighter jets to the US: they may be modernized and transferred to Ukraine – Al Jazeera

Greece is going to decommission 32 old F-16 Block-30s by upgrading 82 F-16s to Block-70s and buying 24 fourth-generation Rafale fighters from France. The country plans to sell the decommissioned aircraft to the United States, and after repair, they could be useful to Ukraine.

This is stated in the material of Al Jazeera. So far, there have been no official statements about where the partners are going to sell the three dozen fighters.

"The US Congressional Committee also authorized Greece to buy up to 40 fifth-generation F-35 multi-role aircraft. Ukraine did not hide its desire to receive them," the publication writes.

Earlier it was reported that Ukraine could expect 60 decommissioned F-16s from Denmark, Norway, and the Netherlands. In Kyiv, it was said that the Ukrainian Air Force needs about 150 aircraft. Therefore, analysts emphasize that 32 fighter jets from Greece would help to close the gap to some extent.

But, according to Al Jazeera's sources, Greece prefers the following formula for the transfer of these fighters: sell them back to the United States, where they will be modernized and then allegedly transferred to Kyiv.

At the same time, the publication also cited unnamed "military experts" who criticized Greece for "giving away dozens of fighter jets" and generally for its "pro-Ukrainian policy."

"Unfortunately, because of our neighbors, we are forced to have very strong armed forces. The sale of 32 F-16s... would open a big hole in the Air Force... There should be a quorum of about 200 aircraft, which is impossible to achieve with more modern and expensive fighters," the journalists quoted an anonymous Greek Air Force engineer as saying.

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