The US State Department has made the determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale (FMS) to Greece of F-16 sustainment materiel and services and related equipment for an estimated cost of US$270m.

According to an August 3 statement issued by the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) Greece requested to purchase US Government and contractor engineering technical and logistics support for the F-16 Aircraft Structural Integrity Programme (ASIP) and F-16 Aircrew Training Device (ATD) support programme, among others.

The DSCA stated that the proposed sale would improve the foreign policy and national security objectives of the US by helping to improve the security of a NATO ally, which was described as an important partner for political stability and economic progress in Europe.

The potential sale of support service is part of a wider upgrade of 84 F-16C/D Block 52/52M ‘Fighting Falcon’ to F-16V Block 72 ‘Viper’ standard.

In addition, the proposed sale would improve Greece’s capability to meet current and future threats by providing logistics support to its F-16 programme, encompassing aspects of aircrew training and aircraft maintenance. The support would also increase Greece’s interoperability with NATO forces.

Principal contractors for the proposed sale are L3Harris International, Lockheed Martin, Collins Aerospace, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon and Atec. Offset agreements have yet to be determined, although Greece “typically requests” such agreements, the DSCA stated, adding that these would be defined during negotiations with contractors.

Greece is currently engaged in the procurement of additional air capabilities for the Hellenic Air Force, and recently took delivery of the first Rafale fighter from French manufacturer Dassault Aviation six months after the contract was signed for the acquisition of 18 aircraft in a €2.5bn deal.

The deal will see six new and 12 secondhand Rafale fighters delivered.