With the french-origin, Dassault Rafale fighter jets in Greece’s arsenal, a Russian defense analyst and journalist stated that the victory “leans” towards Athens (Greece) in a dog fight with Turkey.
With Stealth F-35s, Rafale Jets & Upgraded F-16s, Greece Looks To Stun Turkey In An Aerial Combat
As reported earlier by EurAsian Times, amid escalating tensions between Greece and Turkey, France has reportedly decided to support Athens by equipping them with 18 Dassault Rafale fighter jets to fight its Mediterranean neighbours.
The contract between the French and Greek governments is at an advanced stage, which will see the Hellenic Air Force add a whole Rafale squadron to their existing fleet of Lockheed F-16 Fighting Falcons, Dassault Mirage 2000s, and McDonnell-Douglas F-4 Phantom II.
According to Alexander Sitnikov, who was quoted by Pentapostagma news site, the addition of 18 French Rafale jets to the existing force of Greece, will certainly be very bad news for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. “This is because Ankara cannot impose any of its defensive advantages against Athens, in order to discourage the Greeks from any desire to resist,” he added.
Rafale jets have made headlines in India when New Delhi received its first batch in July and are being formally inducted today (September 10, 2020) .
“With its outstanding load-carrying capability and its advanced mission system, the Rafale can carry out both air-to-ground strikes, as well as air-to-air attacks and interceptions during the same sortie. It is capable of performing several actions at the same time, such as firing air-to-air missiles during a very low altitude penetration phase: a clear demonstration of the true “Omni-Role” capability and outstanding survivability of the Rafale,” as per Dassault Aviation.
Indian Army Has Occupied ‘Critical Heights’ Including Finger 4 Overlooking PLA Positions – Reports
Rafale fighter jet is a twin-jet fighter aircraft manufactured by French-based Dassault Aviation. Rafales are able to operate from both, shore bases and aircraft carriers. On the other hand, the Turkish F16 that could be seen used against Greece, come armed with Penguin Anti-Ship missiles, cluster bombs, runway denial bombs, AIM-9 sidewinder short-range air to air missiles, AIM -120 medium-range air to air missiles, GPS guided monks and conventional drop bombs including Nuclear drop internal 20 mm Vulcan cannon.
As India Acquires Apache AH-64 Helicopters, Why Has The US Started To Dismantle Them?
The Rafale jets can integrate with missiles like MICA air to air missiles, SCALP long-range missiles, laser-guided bombs, AM39 anti-ship missiles, GIAT 30 internal cannon, METEOR long-range air to air missiles, and air to ground precision-guided weapons.
“The battle in the Eastern Mediterranean with the prize of several billion dollars worth of oil and gas fields will be carried out mainly with fighter jets and warships of the warring parties. Nevertheless, many defense experts are convinced that victory will go to the country that gains air supremacy first,” emphasized the Russian journalist while comparing Rafales with F-16s.
Worry For China As Japan To Arm Its Fighter Jets With World’s Longest-Range Cruise Missile
The report cites Turkish newspaper Haber7 and claims that Turkey has already ordered the transfer of S-400 air defense arrays to SE Turkey (which will control the disputed area), while they are contemplating to acquire several Su-37 jets.
Beijing Labels Global Backlash Against Disney’s ‘Mulan’ As US’ Agenda To Malign China
The author also adds that due to the Russian S-400 air defense systems, the Turks have some lead in controlling the airspace of the Eastern Mediterranean, but in order to gain complete control, they also need a sufficient number of Russian S-400 systems, the which will not allow Rafale jets any chance of survival in battle.
