Greek airspace was violated 10 times on Wednesday by Turkish F-16 fighter jets.
While Greece was welcoming the arrival of the new state-of-the-art Rafale fighter jets, Ankara sent ten aircrafts (nine F-16 fighter jets and one ATR-72 anti-submarine aircraft) to the Northeast and Southeast Aegean.
They committed six violations of the Athens Flight Information Region.
In one case, there was a collision with a Greek alert aircraft.
It is worth noting that three Turkish F-16s flew armed in Greek airspace.
According to the Greek military, the Turkish aircraft were identified and intercepted in accordance with international rules and in accordance with established practice.
READ MORE: TURKEY: Democratic Left Party calls for war with Greece over militarisation of Aegean islands.
Meanwhile, the first six Rafale fighter jets that Greece purchased landed at Tanagra Airbase on Wednesday after departing at 09:25 local time (Greek time 10:25) from Istria in France and made an impressive flight over the Acropolis less than two hours later.
In total, Greece will procure 24 Rafale fighter jets, at a total cost of 3.3 billion euros.
The additional contract for the purchase of an additional six new Rafale fighter jets is expected to be signed in the coming weeks.
Two of the six Rafale that arrived in Greece today are the two-seater. These will be used for the training of young pilots, while the other four are single-seater.
The training of eight Greek pilots and 50 aircraft technicians has already been completed, which took place in France.
The Rafale fighters have a range of 2,800 miles and a large fuel capacity, two engines, are equipped with modern and powerful electronic scanning radar and are capable of carrying two Exocet missiles.
READ MORE: The first photos of Greek Rafale fighter jets flying over the Acropolis.
In his speech, the prime minister said, among other things: “The gusts of wind are ready to guard the Greek skies.”
Mitsotakis said: “To acquire the Rafale, we do not need anyone’s permission.
“I will not tire repeating that, with the same determination in how we close the door to every threat, we keep dialogue open."
Mitsotakis went on to say: “The belief of this government was and is that economic and social development must be framed by the shielding of security and the elevation of national dignity.
“For Greece, any strengthening of its defence is a projection of peace.”
READ MORE: Turkish DM Akar: Greece’s alliance with France will cause cracks in NATO.