At the end of the month, at the beginning of October, the seventh brand new Rafale arrives
The Rafales are considered the aircraft that will usher the guards of the Aegean into a new era. Twin-engined, with much greater maneuverability, equipped with weapons that will give the Icarus an edge, the Rafales are a magnet for Top Gun Greek pilots and a terror to opponents.
The creators of the Rafale claim that their fighter, although it cannot be characterized as purely stealth, which is currently attributed to the American F-35 and F-22 fighters, of which only the first is exported outside the USA, has many elements that make it difficult in the identification such as external construction materials, special design of the air intake for the engines, etc.
The Turks seem particularly worried as there are not a few who report that the French fighter jets that the Greek Air Force will acquire are superior to the Turkish F-16s, as they are 4th generation aircraft.
According to the “Pacemaker” column of the well-known newspaper “to Vima”, he explains the phrase “full operating capability” which is widely used in the Air Force, in NATO and in general in defense strategy. What it means; “Full operational readiness”. Such an important certification was given to the Greek Rafale, after nine months of continuous pilot training in the Greek skies and testing of the fighter aircraft.
But what is important is that, from Monday, the Rafales can be used in any mission assigned to them, “closing the door to any threat”, as the Prime Minister said last January, when the first six landed in Tanagra. They can pour into the Aegean and wherever else is needed, showing their supremacy. At the end of the month, at the beginning of October, the brand new seventh Rafale arrives, which may be welcomed at the borders of the Athens FIR by the political leadership of the Ministry of National Defense.
The Minister Nikos Panagiotopoulos and the Chief of the General Staff General Kostantinos Floros will be in Cyprus on October 1st, representing the government and the Armed Forces at the anniversary of the establishment of the Republic of Cyprus and will attend the parade. It will be the first parade since the full lifting of the arms embargo by the United States.
Rafale ready for war: Fear and terror on the other side of the Aegean
The Rafales further improve the balance of air power in the Aegean and the Eastern Mediterranean, as they increase the capability of the P.A. to operate at a greater range and threaten the Turkish fighters from a distance, before they are even noticed by the air force of the neighbor.
The Greek pilots of the French super-weapon are trained daily, flying in the Aegean, day and night, covering all kinds of missions.
The Rafales point the way to the new era that is opening for our Air Force. With them shortly the F-16 VIPER, and in the distance F-35.
The Rafale’s big asset, apart from its electronics, is the number of weapons it can launch, first of course being the Meteor air-to-air missile. It is state of the art, even the French Air Force has received it in the last year and a half. It goes very far, at high speed and engages targets at multiple distances than common missiles.
The details of the missile are classified, but some experts claim that it can hit targets even at a depth of 500 kilometers.
Another important point is that the Rafales will be fully interoperable with the F-16s being upgraded to Vipers, as well as the future acquisition of the F-35s. The addition of this aircraft to the Hellenic Air Force provides it with unprecedented strategic capabilities. This is due to their extended range, which reaches 920 nautical miles (1700 km) with full internal fuel (4,750 kg) and three external fuel tanks with a capacity of 2000 liters each.
The combination of upgrading the existing fleet of Greek F-16s (according to Lockheed Martin, Greece will then have the most advanced F-16s in Europe) combined with the acquisition of French Rafales, will give Greece a notable quality advantage and ensure the dominance of the Air Force in the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean.
With the completion of the F-16 upgrade program to the VIPER level and the strengthened 332 Squadron “Hawk” with 24 Rafale F3Rs, the fighters that will exchange network-centric data via Link 16 and the AESA radar will total 108. A significant power with many additional assets offered by the multitude of sensors they carry.
In the new geopolitical and energy axis that is developing from the Indian Ocean to the English Channel, Greece occupies a pivotal position and military diplomacy is not only in synergy but paves the way for conventional diplomacy.
In the present geopolitical juncture, of the four geopolitical pillars it is that of hard power that gives the country the credibility, prestige and means to realize its goals.
