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Rafale fighter jet
Photo: Nicolas Economou / NurPhoto / Getty Images
The Rafale jets flew over the Acropolis, then landed at the nearby Tanagra military airport: Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis received the first six of 24 fighter jets on Wednesday.
"They're coming," the premier had already tweeted at the lecture and shared a video of the jets in flight.
The remaining aircraft are scheduled for delivery by 2023.
Jets, frigates and torpedoes
The purchase of the Rafale is part of a comprehensive rearmament program by the Greeks.
The investments in fighter jets, but also frigates and torpedoes and other military equipment are justified by the conflict-ridden relationship with neighboring Turkey.
According to government circles, it is important to restore balance in the Mediterranean after ten years of financial crisis and low military spending.
At the same time, Athens is also strengthening its alliances - with France as well as with the USA, which is increasingly represented militarily in the northern Greek city of Alexandroupolis.
From there, military equipment can, for example, travel overland via Bulgaria and Romania across NATO countries to Ukraine.
as/dpa
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