F-35 deal comes closer within Greece’s reach

US Senator Jim Risch, the top Republican on the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, has approved the sale of Lockheed Martin Corp's F-35 fighter jets to Greece, adding the last signature needed before the deal can go through, Hellas Journal reported on Thursday.

The deal was green-lighted by the committee's chair, US Senator Bob Menendez, in February, and has also secured the approval of Republican co-chair Michael McCaul and of Gregory Meeks, the ranking Democrat on the committee.

Now that the consensus of all four officials has been obtained, the US government will formally notify Congress of the sale of F-35s to Greece, and from there, the prescribed procedure for the ratification of the defense contract will be followed.