The cost of the contract for technical support of the Greek Rafale is expected to reach €580 million, marking the first contract to be signed following Greece’s acquisition of the French fighters.

Given that technical contracts account for a large portion of the available budget, solutions such as including them in European funding programs, like SAFE, are being considered by the government.

The first Rafale F3R version landed at Tanagra, central Greece, in 2021, accompanied by the initial €127 million Follow-on Support (FOS) contract. A few months later, along with the second order for six Rafales, the General Directorate for Defense Investments signed a supplementary €63 million FOS contract.

The total cost of purchasing 24 fighter jets, including weapons and technical support, amounted to €3.5 billion.

The new Rafale FOS contract will last four years, covering the support needs of the French fighters until 2030. Negotiations between the government and the contracting companies Dassault, Safran and Thales were completed about a year ago, with contacts expected to be signed before the end of this year. 

According to competent sources, many of the support programs, such as the contract for the FDI frigates, which will be accompanied by a three-year FOS, meet the conditions for inclusion in European funding tools, thereby avoiding a burden on the armed forces’ budget.