The acquisition of modern weapons will be combined with the sale of 20 plus 20 F-35 fighters by the Americans to Greece and our Air Force, although the LOA of the Americans may not include weapons.
The Air Staff assures that the receipt of the powerful 5th generation F-35 aircraft will come “packaged” with the acquisition of modern weapons that will strengthen the Hellenic Air Force.
And in fact these will not only concern the stealth fighters but also the upgraded F-16s in Viper configuration which will also form the “backbone” of our air fleet.
According to his information Onalert.gr the Americans have reportedly already pledged that they intend to release both the powerful AMRAAM 120d air-to-air missile and the JASSM long-range strategic stand-off strike weapon soon. These are two weapons that change the data in the operational capabilities of the Air Force and exploit at the highest level the fighter-platforms of the HAF which will have modern AESA electronic scanning radars but also general electronic systems and sensors of the latest generation.
The goal is for the new weapons to arrive at the same time as the F-35s land in Greece, just as it did with the acquisition of the French Rafale fighters when the Air Force also received the loads of Meteor “killer” air-to-air missiles. And this as the delivery of the upgraded Vipers will already be completed, while according to the design the same upgrade program will “run” for the 38 F-16 block 50.
It was only by chance that what he recently mentioned was not as it seems Chief of the General Directorate of Defense, Vice Admiral Demosthenes Grigoriadis regarding the arms armament. “We will take the best weapons available which will be released by the allies soon. The Air Force will have the best there is” had characteristically stated the first “hawk” of HAF from the 117th Fighter Wing in Andravida during MediaDay in the exercise “ENIOHOS 24”.
Both the most modern air-to-air missile in the Western arsenal, the AMRAAM 120d, and the JASSM strike missile are a burning desire for the Greek “hawks”. Weapons for which an official request has already been submitted along with the desire to acquire the HARPOON anti-ships and the latest generation HARM anti-radar.
The AMRAAM 120d is a classified weapon that very few countries have included in their arsenal to date. This is the upgraded version of the AMRAAM (Advanced Medium – Range Air-to-Air Missile) air-to-air missile, also referred to as the AIM-120. It is manufactured by the Raytheon company and is used both by the latest technology American fighters and by the NASAMS type air defense system. It is the awe-inspiring rival of METEOR.
A superweapon with corresponding capabilities and range which according to the manufacturer reaches the 160 km as it has stronger propulsion, improved guidance and data link systems. The information that has been released so far is extremely limited, while its radius, among other things, remains unknown Escape Zone Noe of the rocket. So far the US government has released him AMRAAM 120D in Britain, Canada, Australia, Denmark and Norway while it is not included in the weapons announced to accompany the new Turkish F-16 fighters. The Americans, however, as Onalert.gr has already reported, are appearing positive on the certification and use of METEOR by the Greek F-35s.
The Americans seem to have given a positive response to the release of the strategic JASSM. The AGM-158 JASSM is considered one of the most powerful Stand Off weapons that the USAF has in its quiver. This is a powerful weapon long range with much high accuracy and destructive potential. With weight 1,200 kg and warfare 450 kg head possess range reaching 370 miles. So far, the US has released JASSM for a few countries, such as Australia, Poland, Finland, while it has already been approved for sale to Japan, the Netherlands and Germany.
JASSMs can be used by Greek F-16 Viper with the appropriate software and together with the SCALPs which are included in the arsenal of the French Rafale fighters are two powerful deterrent weapons in the Greek arsenal.
By Kostas Sarikas/ Source: onalert.gr
