Greece’s F-16 Viper upgrade makes the Turks nervous over the Aegean Sea

There is no longer any doubt that the balance of power, at least in the air over the Aegean Sea, have changed dramatically in favour of Greece and away from Turkey. This comes as the Mediterranean country engages in a reequipment program for the Air Force with modern planes.

And it’s not just the French-made Rafales. There are also the F-16’s of the Viper class, which within the next few days, will become four in number. This fourth “Viper” will be with the other three in Souda.

The first phase of the reequipment program will see 78 F-16 fighter jets upgraded to Viper class at a rate of about one aircraft per month.

All indications are that a year from now, the Greek Air Force will be equipped with at least 17 Vipers. If to these are added the approximately 18 Rafales that will enter the Air Force in the same period, it is obvious that they create a completely new environment over the Aegean.

At the same time, Turkey does not see any significant response to this Greek superweapon on the horizon, unless something changes dramatically on the part of the US and the ban on the sale of F16s to Turkey.

Of course, they have given great importance to the development of drones (the first UAV with a Kızılelma jet engine also flew), but even there the Greek cooperation with the Israeli defence industry – and not only – has the ability to provide the answers it needs.

READ MORE: Panagiotopoulos: The military power between Greece and Turkey is changing in our favour.