Turkish F35 order underlines Greek constraints

Ankara's recent decision to order 24 Lockheed Martin F-35 aircraft has brought to the fore a discussion that has been taking place for some years within the Greek armed forces about how Greece can maintain its deterrent capabilities vis a vis Turkey without entering into an arms race with its neighbor.

The negative experience from the excessive spending on defense between 1996 and 2005 and the fiscal pressure on Athens, which is being asked to slash military expenditure by 400 million euros next year, means that only the absolutely necessary tasks are being taken care of.

Turkey will not take delivery of the F-35s it has ordered for some time. Initially, Turkish pilots will travel to the US to undergo training into how to fly the aircraft but it is expected that the first F-35s, which will be initially delivered in batches of four, will not be fully operational before...