ATHENS, GREECE — The Hellenic Air Force [HAF] has officially announced the range information of the Meteor beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile [BVRAAM], which it purchased together with the Rafale fighter jets.
- Greece buys short takeoff/landing MQ-9B SeaGuardian version
- Delivery of 40 F-35s to the Balkans is expected, but not to Turkey
- Greece received two F-16 Block 52+ upgraded to Block 70 standard
Greece has decided to buy 18 Rafale fighter jets for 2.3 billion euros under a contract signed with France in 2021. Of the 2.3 billion euros that Greece will pay to France as part of the Rafale purchase, approximately 300 million euros will be the ammunition that will be purchased.
Greece, which received its first Rafale combat aircraft in July 2021, also delivered the SCALP cruise missile, the Exocet anti-ship missile, the MICA air-to-air missile, and the Meteor air-to-air cruise missile. Greece officially shared the range of the Meteor missile, which has a very high-performance thanks to the RamJet propulsion system.
According to information gathered from Greece’s official statements, the Greek Meteor BVRAAM has a range of 200 kilometers, a weight of 190 kilograms, a length of 3.65 meters, a diameter of 178 mm, and a speed of Mach 4+. The Meteor BVRAAM is an active radar and has much more advanced features than the AIM-120 AMRAAM, which is the standard BVRAAM of NATO air forces.
The METEOR missile, which stays in the air for a much longer time thanks to its RamJet propulsion system, has almost 3 times the range of the AIM-120 missile.
F-35 for Greece
Greece continues to actively renew its air force forces. Almost a week and a half ago, Minister of National Defense of Greece, Mr. Nikos Panaiotopoulos announced that Greece will intend to acquire 20 of Lockheed Martin’s F-35 Lightning II fifth-generation stealth fighters. There is an option, after acquiring the first 20, that Greece may wish to acquire another 20.
In this way, the Greek Air Force will have two F-35 squadrons to protect the territorial integrity of the Balkan state. According to the Greek Minister of Defense, the first F-35 fighter jet will arrive in Greece in 2028.
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