Greece officially joins F-35 programme with signing of LOA

With the signing of the LOA, Greece is now officially a part of the international F-35 programme. (US Air Force)

Greece has formally joined the international Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter programme with the signing of a letter of offer and acceptance (LOA), announced on 25 July.

The Greek government cemented its intent to buy 20 of the low observable ‘stealth' fighters via the US Foreign Military Sales (FMS) programme, with an option for 20 more.

The Hellenic Air Force (HAF) is looking to acquire the F-35A as part of a wider ramp-up of its combat aviation forces, which has seen the delivery of Dassault Rafales from France and upgrades to its existing fleet of Lockheed Martin F-16 Fighting Falcons.

With the LOA, Greece becomes the 19th country to the join the international F-35 programme. It is also the latest European country to sign up to the programme after Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Switzerland, and the UK.

Along with US Air Force (USAF) aircraft that will be permanently stationed in the UK, the F-35 is set to become the dominant combat type across the continent in the coming decades.

For more information on the F-35s in Europe, please see Analysis – Lightning strikes: F-35 continues to storm Europe .