Greece may sell old F‑16s to US for Ukraine defense boost

Al Jazeera reports that Greece is considering selling 32 F-16 fighter jets to the United States, which could later be transferred to Ukraine. These are older models in the Block-30 version. Greece plans to retire them from service as it modernizes 82 F-16 fighters to the Block-70 version. The country has also purchased 24 Rafale fighters from France, with deliveries underway. Greece might also acquire F-35s, as the U.S. authorities approved the sale of 40 F-35A aircraft to Athens at the beginning of 2024.

Greece is retiring the F-16 Block-30 fighters because their technical condition does not allow for an upgrade to the Block-70 variant. According to Al Jazeera, Athens is considering selling them to the United States, which would repair and modernize the jets before transferring them to Ukraine. The Ukrainian service "Militarny" notes that such a move aligns with Greece presenting itself as an ally of Ukraine and "plans to purchase new F-35 fighters at the expense of selling American F-16s."

In the late 1980s, Greece ordered 40 multifunctional F-16C/D Block-30 aircraft. These jets underwent modernization in the second half of the 1990s, which involved a general overhaul of the airplanes and replacing four structural components of the fuselage. This increased the lifespan of the aircraft from 4,000 to 8,000 hours. Some fighters were also equipped with LANTIRN modules, an integrated navigation and targeting system, to improve their target identification and tracking capabilities.

F-16C/Ds in the Block-30 version are not the newest aircraft, but an additional 32 jets would allow Ukraine to form several fighter squadrons. Combined with 60 F-16 fighters that Kyiv is to receive from other Western allies, including the Netherlands and Norway, this would increase Ukraine's capabilities in air defense, conduct air-to-ground and air-to-air attacks, and disrupt the electronic signals of Russian radars.

The Greek authorities have not officially responded to reports about selling F-16 fighters. Therefore, it is not known if such a transaction will occur. It is also unknown how long it would take the Americans to potentially repair and modernize the Greek F-16s and when the jets could be delivered to Ukraine.