Greece receives the last of 24 Rafale fighter jets

The Greek Air Force has received the last of 24 ordered Dassault Rafale fighter jets.

Scramble reported on this.

The last fighter jet landed at Tanagra Air Base of the Greek Air Force on January 9, 2025, making it the last aircraft ordered as part of an additional batch of six.

Today, the Greek Air Force’s Rafale is the backbone of the 332nd Squadron, the only unit that uses this type of aircraft and patrols in the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean regions.

The aircraft made a direct flight from Dassault’s Bordeaux plant and landed at the 114th Wing base of the Greek Air Force at approximately 13:00 local time.

The order for an additional six Rafale units took place in March 2022, when an order agreement was signed under the new aircraft option.

In total, two different agreements were signed: in 2021, the country ordered 12 used Rafale aircraft from the French Air Force and six newly built F3R aircraft, of which 14 were single-seaters, and 4 were two-seaters.

The total cost of the first batch of aircraft was €2.5 billion at the time, including weapons systems, initial support, pilot and technician training, and the necessary infrastructure at Tanagra Air Base.

The first aircraft arrived in Greece in July 2021, and the last six were delivered in January 2022 as Greek pilots were trained on them.

Two months later, an additional order was placed for six new Rafales – four single-seaters and two double-seaters – worth €1.1 billion.

Militarnyi previously reported that Iraq plans to purchase French Dassault Rafale fighter jets to strengthen the country’s air defense.

In total, it is planned to purchase 12 fighters with a total cost of $3.2 billion, of which Iraq paid the first $240 million as part of the down payment.