Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II

Amid the ongoing delay regarding the sail of F-35 fighter jets to Greece, Hellenic American Leadership Council (HALC) Executive Director Endy Zemenides said in a letter to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken that the progress of Greek-American relations should not be affected by the dysfunctional relationship observed between Washington and Ankara.

Defense Minister Yaşar Güler has announced Türkiye's intention to purchase Eurofighter Typhoon jets, shunning the controversial F-35s from the United States.

Romania plans to buy 32 latest-generation F-35 fighter jets from US manufacturer Lockheed Martin for 6.5 billion dollars, the defense ministry announced on Tuesday. 

Bucharest increased its defense spending to 2.5 percent of gross domestic product this year from 2 percent last year in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

On Thursday at noon, Athenian visitors and residents heard a deafening noise, which, as some may have noticed, came from three fleeting F-35 aircraft of the United States Air Force.

The F-35s had a permit to fly over the Acropolis at a 5,000 feet altitude.

Τhe United Arab Emirates Air Force aerobatic display team and two Typhoons arrived in Athens on Monday to take part in the 11th Athens Flying Week 2023 taking place on September 2-3.

The Turkish Air Force Command plans to modernize 165 F16 jets with block levels of 30, 40 and 50, gradually transforming them into powerful viper level warplanes by the year 2030, local media has reported.

The move comes as part of Türkiye's efforts to bolster its air combat capabilities in the face of potential weaknesses resulting from its exclusion from the F35 program.

The first upgraded F-16 Viper of the Hellenic Air Force is returning to Greece following 2.5 years of exhaustive testing at the US Air Force aerospace facility in Fort Worth, Texas.

The American commitment to reinforce Greece with fifth-generation fighter jets, along with the sale of a number of more sophisticated F-16s, is indicative, at least for now, of Washington's wish to maintain a certain balance of air power in the Aegean.

The US State Department has approved the sale of F-35 fighter jets and related ammunition and equipment to the Czech Republic, the Pentagon announced yesterday, as quoted by Reuters.

The deal is worth 5.62 billion dollars.

Washington's concern over upsetting Turkey and jeopardizing Sweden's NATO membership appears to have drawn the Greek F-35 issue into the mix, delaying the official congressional notification, Kathimerini understands, until after the Vilnius Summit in July.