IN-DEPTH: Exercise Skyros 2021 and Greece's Rafale purchase

The Hellenic Air Force is preparing for the arrival of its first Dassault Rafale DG/EG multi-role fighters, as Babak Taghvaee reveals.

On January 25, 2021, almost 13 years after Greece and France first discussed the purchase of the Dassault Rafale 4.5+ generation multi-role fighter, the two nations finally signed a contract.

The deal involved the acquisition of 18 aircraft – six two-seat Rafale DGs and 12 single-seat Rafale EGs. Of this total, six will be delivered as new-build aircraft (two DGs and four EGs), while the remaining 12 are being delivered second-hand from the Armée de l'Air et de l'Espace (AAE, French Air and Space Force). These surplus aircraft comprise ten former single-seat Rafale Cs and a pair of two-seat Rafale Bs.

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