Analysis: Rubio says there is “no official answer” on weapons for Greece’s F-35s, which puts the delay in Washington, not the Hellenic Air Force

Washington has not yet given an official answer to Greece’s request for weapons for the Hellenic Air Force’s F-35s. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio acknowledged this himself in an interview with Kathimerini (in Greek), given during his visit to Athens and published on October 8, a few hours after the announcement of $4 billion in US Foreign Military Sales (FMS) to Greece. NemesisHD reads the statement as showing that the timetable for modern munitions for the Greek fighters is being decided in Washington, and not by the Hellenic Air Force General Staff (HAFGS), as several people have implied in the past with unfair accusations of scheming.

What Rubio said about the weapons for Greece’s F-35s

Asked about Greece’s request for specific F-35 weapon systems, some of which are the same as those Israel is acquiring, Rubio replied that there is “no official answer” yet and that the matter is being examined very seriously, according to the Greek text of the interview. He described Greece as an important defence ally with a high degree of interoperability with the United States and said the request would be examined with particular attention.

He also described the process: the decision is made through a procedure involving more than one US agency, the final decision rests with the president, and Washington wants to take into account the recommendations of the Department of War. In other words, NemesisHD notes, approval of the weapons is not the routine procedure the Greek side expects but a political decision of the US administration that has still not been taken, despite years of negotiations over the munitions.

The $4 billion and the weapons still waiting

The joint statement of the sixth Greece–US Strategic Dialogue announced $4 billion in defence sales in support of Greece’s long-term defence planning. Rubio’s remark indicates that, at least for the advanced F-35 weapons, the final US decision is still pending. NemesisHD calls this incomprehensible after the already approved purchase of 20+20 F-35As by the Air Force and the upgrade to the F-16V that is already under way. On the AGM-84L Harpoon in particular, it describes the situation with their procurement as infuriating, since no one in their right mind could claim that the Air Force did not want a maritime strike capability on its F-16s, or that the Ministry of National Defence has not been knocking on doors in the United States over the issue.

As NemesisHD set out in its analysis of the Air Force’s munitions “gap”, Greek interest covers AIM-120 and AIM-9X air-to-air missiles, JASSM strike weapons, AARGM anti-radar missiles and maritime strike weapons such as Harpoon, for the F-16 Viper and the F-35. For most of them Athens is waiting for the final Letter of Offer and Acceptance (LoA), the binding document from the US side. For the JASSM-ER, Greece received pricing and availability data, as NemesisHD reported in August, and it has previously been fully briefed on the AIM-120C8 AMRAAM. It will most likely proceed with the AIM-120C8 if no licence is granted for the AIM-120D and the AIM-260 JATM.

Why the criticism of the Air Force loses ground

The HAFGS has repeatedly been criticised for delaying the munitions for the new fighters and for choosing to buy from Israel for reasons unrelated to operational needs. US weapons, however, are acquired through FMS, where the sale, the configuration and the timetable are decided by the US government. According to NemesisHD, Rubio’s admission that there is still no answer on the F-35 weapons, and that it will be given by the president after an interagency process, confirms that the main obstacle to their prompt acquisition lies in Washington and not in the Greek General Staff. The US secretary of state gave no timetable for the decision, despite the relevant FMS approvals that cover Greek interest in American munitions and more.