Greece and Turkey escalate armament race in the Aegean Sea
Diplomatic relations between Greece and Turkey have remained very tense for years. Both countries are continuously heavily arming themselves. They are already decisive leaders in Europe when it comes to the number of tanks they possess. Recently, they have begun investing in, among other things, aviation and naval ships. According to Reuters, Greek authorities plan to spend over £21 billion on armament purchases by 2036.
According to publicly available data, the Turkish army has approximately 2,500 tanks at its disposal. In the case of Greece, it is about 1,300 tanks, but the smaller number is compensated by the fact that they are largely more modern tanks (including Leopard 2A4/GR and Leopard 2A6 HEL) than the Turkish ones. Fairly content with the state of their armoured forces, Athens is launching a shopping offensive for other equipment.
Greece's large defence expenditures
Preliminary agreements (Reuters cites three Greek government representatives) indicate that a plan has already been developed for the main directions of armament for the Greek army. In the coming years, efforts are primarily focused on new submarines, satellites, drones, and fighter jets. Interestingly, it appears similarly in the case of Turkey, whose plans related to the purchase of modern Meteor missiles (and probably Typhoon fighters) did not please the Greeks at all.
Although in January of this year, Greece received the last of 24 French Rafale fighter jets, it does not intend to stop there. Its combat air force will also be strengthened with F-35A fighters. A relevant agreement has already been concluded with the United States for 20 units. Part of the mentioned £21 billion is intended for this purpose.
Additionally, the Greek authorities plan to modernise their existing F-16 fighters to the Viper variant - similar to what will happen with the Polish F-16s.
Main directions of Greek armament in the coming years
The preliminary plan for the main directions of Greek army armament is to be presented in the local parliament in the coming weeks. According to Reuters, it will include positions concerning four new submarines, satellites, elements enabling the development of air defence systems, modernisation of MEKO 200 frigates, and the purchase of various types of drones - flying, maritime, and underwater.
The interest in drones can be at least partly seen as drawing lessons from the war in Ukraine. This is evident from the actions of many countries, including the largest military powers. Drones similar in certain aspects to the Ukrainian ones will be introduced into service by Turkey in the coming months. These will be ULAQ KAMA and ULAQ 12 ASuW drones.
Greece currently allocates about 3 per cent of its GDP to defence, which is one of the best figures among NATO countries. In 2022, the German newspaper "Die Welt" in one of its publications described the tensions between Athens and Ankara as a "cold war in the Aegean Sea."
