Greece plans to submit a letter of interest to the United States regarding the potential procurement of six types of munitions through the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program…
Under a potential $4 billion defense procurement program with the U.S., Greece plans to acquire the AIM-260 JATM and AIM-120D3 AMRAAM air-to-air missiles, the AGM-158B JASSM-ER cruise missile, the AGM-84 Harpoon and AIM-9X Sidewinder missiles, and SDB II StormBreaker bombs.
The program also calls for upgrading 37 F-16 Block 50 fighters to the F-16 Block 70 Viper standard while keeping the existing F-16 Block 30 aircraft in service.
With these munitions and modernization programs, Greece aims to strengthen its air and naval strike capabilities.
Turkiye’s plan to acquire 20 Eurofighter Typhoon fighters, along with long-range Meteor air-to-air missiles for them, is assessed to have influenced Greece’s push to obtain advanced air-to-air missiles.
In response to the Meteor and GÖKHAN missiles, which will strengthen the Turkish Air Force’s beyond-visual-range capability, Greece aims to acquire the AIM-120D3 AMRAAM and, in the future, the AIM-260 JATM for its F-16 and F-35 fighters.
The AIM-260 JATM is a new-generation long-range air-to-air missile being developed for the U.S. Air Force and Navy, and it is currently in development and testing.
No firm date has been announced for the AIM-260’s entry into U.S. service, but the F-22 is expected to be one of the first platforms equipped with the missile.
Any Greek procurement plans for the missile will depend on its U.S. inventory entry date, production capacity, and how much funding Greece can set aside for this munition within the Greek military’s already swollen defense spending…