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Greece
July 25, 2024 1:41 PM Greece formally approved an offer to buy 20 F-35 Joint Strike Fighters from the United States as part of a major defense overhaul, government officials said Thursday. Delivery of the fifth-generation jet made by Lockheed Martin is expected to start in 2028, while Greece maintains the option to purchase 20 additional F-35 jets as part of an $8.6 billion deal. Athens has been seeking an advantage in the air since Turkey's exclusion from F-35 purchases and has also acquired advanced French-made Rafale fighter jets. Deliveries to the Greek air force began in 2021, starting with jets previously used by France's military that will be supplemented by new aircraft built by French defense contractor Dassault Aviation. Current members of the F-35 program, either as participants or through military sales, are: the United States, Australia, Belgium, Britain, Canada, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Israel, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway Poland, Singapore, Korea and Switzerland.. (Source: voanews - U.S.)
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