Turkey Is the Reason: The Hellenic Air Force, with around 227 fighter jets, boasts one of NATO's largest air fleets, even surpassing the UK and France individually. Greece operates a robust mix of aircraft: F-16s, including Block 70/72 "Viper" upgrades, Dassault Rafales, Mirage 2000-5s, and F-4E Phantoms.

-Future plans include adding 20 F-35A Lightning II jets with an option for 20 more. By 2030, Greece aims for a streamlined fleet of around 200 jets, focusing on the F-35A, F-16 Viper, and Rafale.

-This sizeable fleet is strategic, addressing regional threats and ensuring eastern Mediterranean security amid tensions with neighboring Turkey.

Here at the National Interest, a recent article discussed why Greece has more tanks than the British and French militaries combined. For a country of 10 million people, a fleet of 850 active main battle tanks is quite large.

Did you know that the Hellenic Air Force has one of the largest fleets of fighter jets in NATO, with a total of approximately 227 fighter aircraft? That makes the Hellenic Air Force larger than both the Royal Air Force and the French Air........

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