Greek DM at Ramstein Flag: We’re Acquiring More Capabilities with F-35s

Greece’s defense minister on Friday pointed directly to the imminent arrival of US-made F-35s fighter planes for the Hellenic Air Force at the very airbase he was visiting in the northwest Peloponnese, along with the creation of an anti-aircraft and anti-drone “dome” system, on the occasion of the conclusion of the NATO’s Ramstein Flag 2024 exercise.

“NATO is an alliance of values, dedicated to the defense not only of the members that belong to the Alliance, but to international law,” Minister Nikos Dendias told delegations from several NATO member-states participating in the multi-national exercise – the largest in Europe held by the Alliance.

In posts on his X account, Dendias hailed Ramstein Flag as “…An allied exercise with the participation of 89 fighter jets and 12 support aircraft from 13 countries, operating from Andravida Air Base…NATO’s selection of Greece as the host country underscores its geostrategic importance.”

In a second X post on X, accompanied by a photo of himself and Greece’s armed forces’ leadership in front of a French-made Rafale fighter and a US-made F-35, Dendias underlined: “Standing before the present, the Rafale, and the coming future of the F-35s of the Hellenic Air Force, together with the leadership of the armed forces.”